Bowl of Spanish Lentil Soup
(click to enlarge)

Lentil Soup


Spain - North Central   -   Sopa de Lentejas
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 3-1/2 qt
***
1-1/4 hr
Yes		 Think lentil soup is boring? Think again. This delicious soup is patterned after one from a Paúles Monk of Burgos - the brothers aren't into boring soup.




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1
5
6
4
1
2
1/4
8
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8
5
1/2
12
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1/2
1/2
1/2
2
1/2
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14
1
---
#
oz
cl
oz


t
c
---
oz
oz
T
oz
---
T
T
t

T
---
oz
T
-- Broth
Lentils (1)
Onion
Garlic
Salt Pork (2)
Bay Leaf
Parsley sprig
Pepper
Water
----
Tomato
Onions
Olive Oil
Sausages (3)
-- Spicing
Thyme
Rosemary
Paprika
Chili, dried (4)  
Salt
-----------
Potatoes (4)
Wine Vinegar
Broth   -   (55 min - 10 min work)
  1. Rinse LENTILS and place into a pot that will hold about 5 quarts.
  2. Peel ONION and leave whole. Peel GARLIC, crush the cloves very lightly. Dice SALT PORK small.
  3. Put all Broth items in the pot with the Lentils. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 45 minutes.
Meanwhile   -   (15 min work)
  1. Scald TOMATOES in boiling water 1 minute, quench in cold water. Peel and chop small.
  2. Chop ONION fine.
  3. Slice, dice or crumble, (depending on your SAUSAGES) into soup size pieces (1/2 inch across or so). Place in a skillet with 1 t Oil. Fry stirring until they are lightly browned. Remove, drain and add to the pot.
  4. Pour off or add Oil as needed to have 1 Tablespoon in the skillet. Fry Onion until translucent, then add Tomatoes and fry a few minutes more to de-glaze the pan. Add all to the pot.
  5. Take a bundle of THYME sprigs, the amount you think might yield about 1/2 Tablespoon of leaves, and tie them with twine (for easy removel). Strip ROSEMARY leaves from stems. Chop fine (measure is after chopping). If you haven't fresh (how could you not have fresh rosemary?) use about 1/3 t each dried). Add all Spicing items to the pot.
At 45 Min   -   (20 min - 10 min work)
  1. Peel POTATOES and Dice 1/2 inch or so. Stir into the pot and continue to simmer until potatoes are nearly done.
  2. Stir in Vinegar and continue to simmer until Potatoes are done.
  3. Fish out the herb stems, onion and bay leaf. Serve Hot.
NOTES:

  1. Lentils:

      Small green lentils are best if you want texture for your soup (as I do). Use larger brown lentils if you want a thicker, smoother texture.

  2. Salt Pork:

      Once a major ingredient in American cooking, this is making a come back, but is still a little hard to find. Note that even by AHA standards pork fat has a better health profile than butter. For details see our Salt Pork page.

  3. Sausages:

      A mild sausage is called for in the pattern recipe, with no further explanation. I used a mild Italian sausage (very successfully) for the photo example. For details see our Sausages Page.

  4. Chilis:

      OK, this isn't in the pattern recipe at all, but this is Southern California, where a soup with no chilis "just can't be right". I use two Thai chilis, but use your own best judgement on quantity and hotness. For details see our Chili Page.

  5. Potatoes:

      The pattern recipe call this an optional ingredient, but I always include it. White Rose or Red potatoes can be used, but avoid Yukon Gold type potatoes which disintegrate into mush if cooked a little long. While the pattern recipe adds Potatoes and Vinegar together, I hold off on the vinegar because acids harden the outside surface of potatoes, an effect I'm not fond of. For details see our Potatoes page.
  6. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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