Beth’s Lentil Soup

Ingredients

• ½ pound dried lentils, cleaned and drained
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 celery spears, chopped
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped to a chunky paste
• 4 slices smoked bacon, cut into ½ inch pieces
• 1 pound cured sausage of your choice (Frankfurters, smoked Thüringen,
  Kielbasa, Andouille, etc.), sliced into ¼ to ½ inch disks
• 4 to 5 cups chicken broth or stock
• Olive oil
• Salt & cracked pepper

Amounts can be adjusted to taste, dietary restrictions

Method

1. In a heavy bottomed pan or stockpot (your favorite soup pot!) brown the bacon
   in a little olive oil (maybe a tablespoon) rendering enough fat to sauté the
   vegetables.
2. Add the onions and sauté until translucent.
3. Add the carrots, celery and parsley and let them cook, stirring often, for five
   minutes.
4. Add the garlic and stir the vegetables for another minute or so.
5. Stir in the sausage and cook for another five minutes, stirring often. Add the
   lentils and stir until all are coated in oil.
6. Add four cups of the broth, crack in some pepper (add salt if you are using
   homemade stock) and bring to the boil.
7. Turn the heat down to simmer, and cover the pot for forty-five minutes, stirring
   occasionally.
8. After forty-five minutes, take the lid off, add more broth if needed, and simmer
   until the lentils are cooked (another fifteen minutes should do it).
9. Check for seasoning and add salt if needed.
10. Serve as a meal with crusty bread and a nice Pinot Noir, or a yeasty beer.