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What's For Dinner? v19.30 - Hearty Winter Soups [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-01-25

I’m recycling again, these recipes appeared in WFD 10 years ago.

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Potato and Bacon Soup

4-6 servings

1 tb oil

2 tb butter

1/4 lb bacon, diced small

3 leeks, white and pale green parts only, well cleaned, thinly sliced

6 cups chicken stock

2 lbs Russet potatoes, peeled, diced

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried rosemary or 1 tb minced fresh rosemary

salt and white pepper to taste

minced parsley (optional)

Heat oil and butter over medium heat in a large heavy pot. Add bacon. When bacon is mostly rendered add leeks; cook, stirring, for a few minutes. Add stock, diced potatoes, thyme and rosemary. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes, until potatoes are soft. Use a potato masher to break up the chunks of potato and make it somewhat smooth; season to taste and serve. Note that using white pepper is important. Garnish with a little minced parsley.

I varied the preparation this time by mashing it smooth, and adding some cream, and also adding some sauteed sliced mushrooms. An unexpected side effect of adding cream is that the cold leftover soup basically solidified and had to be reheated carefully over low heat.

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Lentil Soup with Sausage and Greens

Lentil soup always reminds me of the old "stone soup" folk tale, because once you have lentils and an onion, pretty much any other vegetable added will be good, and if you need it to be 10 servings not 6 just add more water and it will still be good. I like some meat in it but this is easy to leave out.

The rule when cooking beans is to add tomatoes at the end, I don't know if this really applies to lentils but that's how I do it.

6 or more servings

3 tb oil

1 onion, chopped

4 ribs celery, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

4 slices bacon, diced (optional)

10 cups water

2 cups (almost 1 lb) green lentils, rinsed (the kind that most American markets just call "lentils"; they'll be cheaper and better at markets that call them "green lentils")

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)

1 tsp thyme

10 oz bag kale or chard, cut up

1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes

6-8 oz andouille or other smoked sausage (optional)

salt and black pepper to taste

1-1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar (optional)

Heat oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add onion, celery, carrots, garlic and bacon. Cook, stirring, for a few minutes until vegetables are tender but not browned. Add water, lentils, thyme and red pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until lentils are tender, about 40 minutes. Add the tomatoes and greens and cook another 10 minutes or until the greens are tender.

If you want to add sausage, dice it and brown in 1tb oil and add with the tomatoes and greens.

Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Joy of Cooking recommends finishing with a little of something acid, balsamic vinegar or sherry vinegar or lemon juice.

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I’m trying something that pixxer mentioned last week, chicken and red lentil soup. I need to go to the Indian market for red lentils. What’s for dinner at your place?

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