Lentil and bacon soup

On a rainy, grey day like today there is nothing better than making some comforting soup from scratch.  I've got some lentils to use up, so when I stumbled upon this recipe below from Good Food I knew I needed to make it.  In fact, this is what I'm making tonight!


Lentil and Bacon Soup

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 x 70g packs pancetta cubes
• 1 carrot (about 120g), finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 chilli, sliced
• 2 low-salt stock cubes
• 250g red lentils, rinsed

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, 1 pack of pancetta and the carrot. Cook on a low to medium heat for 10 minutes until the onions are soft.
2. Add the cumin, turmeric, garlic and chilli and cook for a further 1 - 2 minutes
3. Pour in 1.25 litres of boiling water, crumble in the stock cubes and add the lentils. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 mins, stirring occasionally to ensure the lentils aren't sticking.
4. Meanwhile, fry the remaining lardons in a small frying pan for about 10 minutes until crispy.
5. Serve the soup with a sprinkle of crispy lardons on top
6. Enjoy!

xx