lentils with kale and bacon

After getting all over excited about the onset of Spring and the flavours that come with it, I’m having something of a comfort food revival.

This weekend it rained a lot, with no regard for the fact that I needed to fit in 10 miles of half marathon training. Charming.

And rain basically equals me needing to find something hot to conjure up in the kitchen whilst I ignore the outdoors.

Lentils with Kale and Bacon
adapted from For the Love of Cooking

Ingredients

  • 5 slices bacon, chopped
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 3 carrots, diced
  • 2 stalks of celery, diced
  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes
  • Salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • Pinch of crushed red pepper
  • 7 cups of chicken broth
  • 3 cups of lentils
  • 2-3 cups of kale, chopped

Directions

  1. Cook the bacon in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Once the bacon is cooked, remove and place on a paper towel.
  2. Remove all but 1-2 teaspoons of bacon grease from the pan then add the onion, carrots, and celery and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
  3. Add the garlic and cook stirring constantly for 1 minute.
  4. Add the tomatoes, salt, freshly cracked pepper, cumin, and crushed red pepper; stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.
  5. Add the chicken broth, and lentils; stir then cover and simmer for 1 hour.
  6. Add the fresh chopped kale as well as the cooked bacon and simmer for 5 minutes then serve.
  7. Serves 8-10. Enjoy with crusty baguette or a country loaf, and a glass of red wine too, if you like (you know I do).


Perfect healthy comfort food for a rainy day!

In order to turn this into a soup, I’d use 2 cups of lentils, rather than 3 or perhaps up the broth levels. This way it’s delicious as a main or side dish. I plan on boxing it up and having it for lunch all week. Yes.

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Category: healthy food, recipe | Tags: , 9 comments »

9 Responses to “lentils with kale and bacon”

  1. Food Makes Fun Fuel
    April 28th, 2010 at 1:26 pm

    Mmm, yes please! You've nailed 3 of my favorite ingredients. I HAVE to try this

    [Reply]
  2. Susan
    April 29th, 2010 at 3:27 pm

    I LOVE this recipe!! You got your greens, protein, fibre, and yummy bacon ;) I may have to save this for some comfort food when I move to the big city!

    [Reply]
  3. Erica
    April 29th, 2010 at 7:33 pm

    I could eat lentils every day…so good. And its fun to play around with new ways to flavor them up. Ya know…I still haven't tried Kale. I think its about time! Have a good Friday

    [Reply]
  4. Holly
    April 30th, 2010 at 9:17 am

    YES. PLEASE. when you mentioned pairing it with some crusty bread and wine, i was sold.

    9 miles tomorrow…eeek!

    chat soon :)

    [Reply]
  5. elise
    May 7th, 2010 at 10:57 pm

    oh yum. sans bacon this recipe has my name all over it :)

    [Reply]
  6. Susan
    September 7th, 2011 at 1:44 pm

    Fairly new to cooking…Q: Are the lentils dried or reconstituted with water?

    [Reply]

    Angharad Reply:
    September 8th, 2011 at 5:08 pm

    I used dry lentils, rinsed before use. Hope you try it out!

    [Reply]
  7. Stephanie
    January 24th, 2012 at 4:41 pm

    Yum! We made this last night with black-eyed peas (because I’m a bit obsessed right now) and it was altogether delicious! Don’t worry, I did soak the peas ahead of time, and cut down on the broth. Thank you for adding this yummy staple to our weeknight dinners!

    [Reply]
  8. #elf4health Meal Plan [Monday] |
    December 10th, 2012 at 2:26 pm

    [...] Lentils w/kale & bacon and salad [...]

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