Chef's Recipes

Lentil & Bacon Soup

A bowl of Warm Lentil Soup with Crispy Bacon Croutons, Sour dough Toast, Curry Oil Drizzle

Serves 2-4 people

Ingredients                                                

1 x Onion diced
1 x Carrot diced
1 x Celery diced
1 x Leek sliced
1 x cup Red lentils – soaked in cold water overnight
750ml Vegetable / Chicken stock
2 x rasher Smoked streaky bacon
2 x slice Sourdough bread – long slice halved
1 x slice White bread
1 x Bay leaf
Pinch Salt
Pinch Pepper
10ml Olive oil
20g Butter

Method

• In a warm, heavy bottomed pot / medium saucepan, sweat off all the vegetable ingredients in little olive oil and butter till soft.
• Then add drained and well rinsed lentils, cover with stock and add bay leaf, bring to boil and then simmer. 
• After simmering uncovered with 30 minutes, check level of soup, add more water if needed. Check seasoning.
• Bring to a quick boil, turn off the heat when ready and pulse blend in a food processor.
• To make curry oil, add a curry spice blend to a warm pan and lightly toast for a few minutes. Take off heat and then add Olive oil, infuse till ready to use. This can be done in advance, best a day before requiring the oil. 
• During cooking, the bacon, croutons and toast can be prepped to be ready for plating. 
• Shallow fry bacon lardons in saucepan with olive oil till almost crispy. Then add bread and toast till croutons.
• Remove from pan, wipe out pan and then in little rapeseed oil, lightly toast the sourdough on both sides.
• Pour soup into warmed soup plates, then add bacon and croutons, followed by sourdough toast last. 
• Finish with a good drizzle of curry oil.

Serve and enjoy!