Lentil Soup with Winter Vegetables

Soups and winter just go so well together. And cool weather crops make for great soup ingredients. Matched with the savory crunch of rendered crispy bacon, the flavor is nicely rounded and hearty.

1 cup lentils du Puy 

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs fresh thyme 

6 oz bacon or just 1⁄4 cup (2oz/58gr) lard 

2 carrots (6oz/170gr), finely diced

1 small celeriac or parsnip (8oz/250gr) or both, finely diced

1 leek or onion (6oz/170gr), finely chopped 

4 cloves garlic, minced  

4 to 5 cups beef stock (30gr of paste concentrate)

1⁄4 tsp pepper

1 1⁄4 tsp salt 

A handful green leaves - spinach or chard or arugula or radish tops, chopped (about 2 to 3oz/75gr)

1. Boil lentils for 30 minutes with bay leaf and thyme in enough water to cover, plus an inch, and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, cut the bacon into match-stick sized lardons and, in your soup pot, render the fat from it. Once the bacon is brown and crispy, remove it and set it aside to sprinkle the crispy savory morsels on top when serving. 
3. To the fat add the carrots, celeriac and onion. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables have softened.
4. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Dump the whole lentil pot into your soup pot, lentils and cooking liquid and all. Add the beef stock, bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Season with the salt and pepper and continue cooking until the lentils are tender, about 5 to 10 minutes more.
6. With an immersion blender or by transferring 1⁄3 of the soup to a blender, mash part of the soup to create a different texture in the broth. Add more stock if you find it too thick OR blend more of the lentils if you find it to be too thin.
7. Add greens, and keep warm long enough to let the leaves wilt before serving.