Lentil Soup

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Lentil soup is good freezer food.  It holds up over time and is a hearty one-bowl meal.  I've made several different recipes over the last few years and here are two great ones: one for everyday ingredients and another for the day you spend the time to make soffritto (you know you want to.... you're in the kitchen all day anyway, you can spare one burner for 5 hours, right?)  




Lentil Soup:  10-12 cups

Ingredients (no Soffritto):
1/4 cup olive oil  or  bacon fat rendered from 4oz slab bacon (see step 1)
1 medium carrot, diced medium
1 medium onion, diced small
1 medium celery rib, diced small
6 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced thin
2 Tbs parsley, chopped
7-8 cups liquid (at least 4 cups should be chicken broth; up to 4 cups can be water)
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup brown lentils, sorted and rinsed (Le Puy or green are also good)
1 sachet (see ingredients below)

Ingredients (with Soffritto)
3 Tbs olive oil  or  bacon fat rendered from 4oz slab bacon (see step 1)
1 medium carrot, diced medium
1/2 cup Sofffritto
1 cup brown lentils, sorted and rinsed (Le Puy or green are also good)
7-8 cups liquid (at least 4 cups should be chicken broth; up to 4 cups can be water)
1 sachet (see ingredients below)

Sachet Ingredients:
1 Parmesan cheese rind (4"x 2")
2 bay leaves
8 thyme sprigs
2 parsley sprigs
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
4 garlic cloves

Extras - mix and match from these ideas:
1 head of escarole cut into 1/2" wide strips
1 bunch spinach, washed and chopped
4-6 large cooked or grilled sausages
small meatballs
cooked pearl onions
chopped parsley or chives
cloves of garlic confit

Instructions:

1. If you want to use slab bacon to increase flavour, start by cutting 1/4" deep cross-hatch on the fatty side of your 4oz slab.  Then place fat side down in your dutch oven or large pot and allow the fat to render for about 3 minutes on medium heat.  If using slab bacon, leave it in the pot throughout cooking time.  At the end of the full cooking time, remove it, cut off the fat, slice the meat into "lardons" and return those to the soup.  Alternately, heat your olive oil.
2. On Preparing the Sachet:  ideally, put all the sachet ingredients in a square of cheesecloth and tie with kitchen twine so you can just scoop it out at the end and discard it.  If you don't have cheesecloth and twine, just put the cheese rind and bay leaves in loose and omit the other things.  
3. If not using soffritto, we need to give the vegetables time to develop some flavour so add the carrot, onion, celery, garlic, parsley and 3/4 tsp salt to the heated olive oil on medium heat.  Stir occasionally until vegetables are soft, and lightly browned (about 20 minutes).  Add the lentils, broth and other main ingredients.  
4. If using soffritto, you've already put in the time to develop flavour.  So add soffritto to your bacon fat or olive oil (from step 1) and stir in carrot and lentils, stirring to warm and mix well.  Add other main ingredients.
5. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low, partially cover and simmer about 1 hour for brown lentils (less time if using smaller Le Puy lentils).  The only way to be sure it's done is to taste it.  Check every ten minutes once you're close to the 1 hour mark.  Older lentils will take longer.  You want a cooked lentil but not overcooked since that'll deteriorate and turn to mush.
6. When done, remove from heat.  Remove the sachet.  If you're using slab bacon, remove that and cut it into lardons. If using cooking greens or herbs, stir in the prepared greens now.
7. If you'll be eating without portioning/freezing:  add any other extra ingredients now and serve.
8. For portioning/freezing, divide any extras (grilled sausage pieces, garlic, onions, meatballs, chicken, etc) into the bottoms of your freezer moulds and then ladle lentil soup over top, leaving at least 3/8" head-space on the mould.  Then, before moving to the freezer, slowly drizzle water onto the top of each mould to form about 1/4" layer of water on top of the soup.  The water will help protect the soup from freezer burn and you won't have to add as much water when you're reheating. Transfer to the freezer, freeze until solid, remove from moulds to freezer bag.

Recipe without Soffritto is based on Cooks Illustrated "Lentil and Escarole Soup" by Matthew Card in Winter 2010 Soups & Stews.  Recipe with Soffritto is based on Thomas Keller's "Lentil Soup - Soupe aux Lentilles" in Bouchon.

Calories (with sausage & escarole, without soffrito) per cup: 291; Fat 16g; Carbs 19g; Protein 19g