Soup for a Winter Day

It had been cold and raining in Los Angeles and Cathy found a great soup recipe in The Zuni Cafe Cookbook. She modified the recipe slightly and it turned out to be a wonderful thick soup. Perfect for a rainy winter day!

Lentil-Sweet Red Pepper Soup with Cumin & Black Pepper Soup
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Modified by Cathy

For about 4 cups

2 TBL extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 to ½ cup diced sweet red pepper
½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
¼ cup teaspoon cumin seeds
¼ cup finely diced carrot
¼ cup finely diced celery
¼ cup finely diced yellow onion
1 to 2 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
1 bay leaf
1 bay sprig of fresh flat-leaf chopped (stem and leaf)
1 cup lentils, preferably black or dark green French, picked over
4 to 4 ½ cups chicken stock
¼ pound bacon

Cathy sautéed the bacon, then removed the bacon reserving the fat in the pan.

Crush the peppercorns and cumin seeds in a mortar.
Saute the peppers and cumin and black pepper about 5 minutes until the peppers are softened. Add about 2 tablespoons of oil. Add all vegetables, bay leaf and parsley and sauté until soft.

Add the lentils and about 3 cups of the stock or water. Bring to a simmer. Stir, and taste the liquid for salt. Reduce the heat and cook uncovered, barely simmering, until the lentils are tender and have absorbed most of the liquid, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat cover, and leave 5 minutes for the lentils to soften.

If you are going to puree or partially crush the lentils, do so now – it is most efficient to do this while the mixture is thick and dense, before you add the last of the liquid. We use an emersion blender to puree, right in the pan.

Add more liquid, in ½ cup doses, to bring the soup to the desired texture.
Tear up the bacon and add to the soup.

Simmer, taste for seasonings and serve.