Smoked Bacon and Lentil Soup

1 hour

to cook

This is a very substantial soup, best made with whole lentils which are a greeny brown colour and don't need any soaking.

The Delia Online Cookery School: Make sure you knives are sharp when preparing the onions. Watch our video showing you how to keep them in the best condition, and how to chop onions. Just click here to play.

This recipe is from Delia's Complete Cookery Course. Serves 4-6

method
Ingredients

Method

Heat the oil in a large cooking pot and fry the bacon in it until the fat begins to run.

Then stir in the prepared carrots, onion and celery and, with the heat fairly high, toss them around to brown them a little at the edges. Now stir in the washed, drained lentils plus the contents of the tin of tomatoes followed by the crushed garlic then the stock.

As soon as the soup comes to the boil, put a lid on and simmer, as gently as possible, for about 1 hour. About 15 minutes before the end add the cabbage. Taste and season. Just before serving stir in the chopped parsley.