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
- Cook the bacon in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Once the bacon is cooked, remove and place on a paper towel.
- 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.
- Add the garlic and cook stirring constantly for 1 minute.
- Add the tomatoes, salt, freshly cracked pepper, cumin, and crushed red pepper; stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth, and lentils; stir then cover and simmer for 1 hour.
- Add the fresh chopped kale as well as the cooked bacon and simmer for 5 minutes then serve.
- 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.