Souptember: Bacon & Lentil soup

 

I have said it before and I will say it again Autumn is just one of my most favorite times of the year. Mainly because when September arrives so does Souptember.  The weather so far has been very favorable here in the Shire but as the nights start to draw in and you get that chill in the air once the sun has gone to bed there is nothing better than a heart warming soup to get you right. We are big soup eaters in our family, especially when my children were younger and if they were poorly they would always ask for mum's homemade soup.  

One of our favorites is Bacon & Lentil and yes you can get it in a can made by one or two very famous companies but there is nothing better than making your own.  Bacon & Lentil is one of the quicker soups to make and can be ready and steaming hot and ready to serve within  20-30 minutes start to finish depending on how quick you chop your veg or if like me I start and make up soup bags when I am doing the Sunday veg by chopping up a little extra veg for a soup and put them in the freezer so that I can just grab them when needed, this of course will add a little extra time to your cooking time but takes about the same amount of time as it would if you were chopping from fresh. 

The other reason for liking soups is most of the time what is required to make it is sitting in the veg draw of your fridge and soups are especially good for using up veg that won't last too much longer. 

If you would like to try something a little different then you will need

1 Tbsp of butter or oil

4 rashes of smoked bacon or a pack of smoked lardons

1 onion finely chopped

1 red pepper finely chopped

2 litres chicken or vegetable stock

1 small sweet potato peeled and finely diced

1 carrot finely diced

1 stick of celery finely chopped

1 garlic clove

200g of red lentils

1 Tbsp of crème fraiche [optional]

 

• Heat the butter or oil in a large saucepan. Add the bacon, onion, red pepper, celery and carrot. Cook on a low heat for 5 minutes or until the vegetables start to soften.
• Add the sweet potato, garlic and lentils to the bacon and vegetables. Stir for a minute, then pour over the stock.
• Season with salt & pepper. Return to the boil then turn down to a medium heat, cover and cook for 15 – 20 minutes or until the red lentils are tender.
• Blend using a stick blender or processor.
• Add the crème fraiche

 

Serve with crusty bread

This soup is great for freezing and makes great grab and go meals for work as by the time lunchtime arrives your soup will have defrosted and all you will need to do is have access to a  microwave to warm it through. If you don't have access to a microwave at work but you do at home take it out of the freezer the night before as it lends itself to a quick and easy to warm through and put in a flask to keep it warm until you are ready. My dad was a long distance lorry driver and his flask went all over the country with him and if your other half is a keen fisherman soups are always ideal to take with them to keep warm whilst waiting for a bite.  If bacon & Lentil is not to your taste you can also find my other soup favorites here.

Mx