Lentil Soup with Nueske’s Applewood Bacon

Another new feature you are going to see on the blog is “Weekend Cooking”, where Beth and I will cook a bacon recipe and then share it with you. This week’s recipe is Lentil Soup made some of the leftover Nueske’s Applewood bacon. The recipe only called for three strips of bacon but I thought it would be better if we used four.

The soup has a very smokey flavor and the bacon doesn’t get lost. I am not sure if that’s because we added the extra bacon or the fact that Nueske’s bacon as such a strong flavor. It also becomes more flavorful when you heat it up for leftovers.

Give the recipe a try and let us know what you thought about it. If you changed anything please share via a comment. Send recipe ideas to jmosley at mrbaconpants dot com.

Lentil Soup w/ Nueske’s Applewood Bacon
Prep: 20 minutes Total: 1 hour Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4 strips (4 ounces) bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 medium carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/4-inch half-moons
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups lentils, picked over and rinsed
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth (3 1/2 cups)
• 1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven (or other 5-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid), cook bacon over medium-low heat until browned and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat.
2. Add onion and carrots; cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato paste, and cook 1 minute.
3. Add lentils, thyme, broth, and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Cover; cook until lentils are tender, 30 to 45 minutes.
4. Stir in vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Serve immediately.

Adapted from a recipe in Martha Stewart Living, March 2005 (all we did was add more bacon)

Nueskes supplied the Applewood Smoke Bacon free of charge. This is a good thing because if I had to buy everything I reviewed or used on this site I would be broke. Read my disclosure policy for more information.