Lentil Soup with Homemade Bread

While I like to use cookbooks, and I am surely a sucker for buying them, I also love looking at recipes online.  A few weeks ago I found this amazing recipe for no knead bread, which speaks to the lazy chef within me. It has a fantastic crusty outside and chewy soft inside.  I'm not exaggerating when I say I am STILL thinking about this bread, and any excuse I can think of to make it again. Last night my husband said something close to "Scotch Broth sounds nice."  What I heard is, "Let's have soup so you can make some of that fantastic bread."  So I have a loaf waiting for tonight that is 2 cups plain flour, 1 cup whole wheat.  I'll report back later on the results.

Pretty AND tasty!

Maybe we are greedy pigs (yes we are), but this loaf did my husband and I for 5 bowls of soup (total, not each), plus a slice for the kids, who are crazy and didn't like it.  They aren't fond of a crusty crust.  We cut generous slices, about an inch thick.








Since I can't eat just bread all the time, I made some soup to go with it.  The lentil soup recipe is from a rather old, beaten up copy of The Joy of Cooking.  It has crossed the Atlantic three times, and given that I don't really like this book, that is saying something.  There are however, a few recipes that I like to make out of it, and this lentil soup is one (the mac and cheese recipe is good too, if you own a copy).  It is simple, and very tasty.  I always make 1/2  a recipe, and it is still enough for 5 big bowls.

Lentil Soup

olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 carrots, chopped
1 cup red lentils, picked over and rinsed
4 cups water
1 can chopped tomatoes
4 slices bacon (more if you use streaky bacon, ie. American)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper (or to taste)

Heat olive oil (about 2 tbsp) in a large sou pot over medium heat.  Add onions, carrots, garlic and bacon.  Cook until tender but not brown.

Stir in water, lentils, tomatoes and bring to the boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 45 minutes.  I tend to just let it cook on low until we are hungry, and that can mean upwards of 2 hours.  Just make sure the lid is on and the liquid doesn't boil away.  If you want it thicker then take the lid off and let some of the liquid evaporate towards the end of cooking.

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