Tonight we are going to the Charleston Urban League Gala so...no cooking for me! The Urban League does amazing work in the community and if you do not know about them please take the time and visit their website http://ctul.org/. This link will take you to our local group but this wonderful organization is all over the country.
A few days ago when the weather turned cold (in the 70's) I felt it was time to make soup. Actually how this happened was we didn't want chicken again and I had a bag of lentils in the closet that J had given me when she went on her great adventure to South America. I started off Googling Chicken and Lentils, that did not give me the desired result but....this soup turned up.
Apparently I am experiencing technical difficulties again and will have to actually type the recipe!
Hearty Lentils and Bacon from Bon Appetit
Yield: Serves 6
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1 slice bacon chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
7 cups (or more) canned low-salt chicken broth
2 cups dried lentils
2 large fresh thyme sprigs or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chives or green onions
Combine onion, celery, carrot, bacon and garlic in heavy Dutch oven. Stir over medium high heat 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook until vegetables are tender, about 7 minutes. Uncover; add broth, lentils, thyme and bay leaf and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. Discard thyme spri9gs and bay leaf.
Transfer half of soup to processor; cool slightly. Puree until smooth. Transfer puree to Dutch oven.) Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate..)
Bring soup to simmer, thinning with more broth if desired. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper.
Combine parsley and chives in a small bowl. Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle parsley mixture over and serve.
So the changes I made were:
In place of bacon I used some ham hock pieces purchased at Doshcers. They were added when it was time to simmer th soup.
In place of the stock I used plain old water. I don't know if you can even tell the difference.
Instead of putting the soup in the food processor, I used the wonderful stick blender J left with me for safe keeping.
We had these with the Kaiser rolls I made when the blog was started. A truly yummy supper! The leftovers were frozen for lunch later.
You are so creative! I've never been inside Doschers. My husband plays soccer right behind there, and yet I've never ventured inside!!
ReplyDeleteDoschers is part of my grocery store shopping routine. They have some great buys on steak and the meat sells so fast that its always fresh. It is not fancy inside but reminds me of the stores I used to go in up in NY. The best part is that it is right down the street.
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