Sunday Night Comfort Soup!

Don’t we all have those lazy TV dinner moments when all we want is a film and some good old comfort food?!

Rob and I had one of those moments last sunday evening. We had taken the dog out for a run and it had started to tip down with rain half way round. By the time we got home we were drenched and were craving something warming and comforting but also healthy, nutritious and guilt free! In other words a food that would make us feel good!

After a moments deliberation we turned to good old Delia, in my view the queen of comfort eating! We came across this awesome recipe for Lentil Soup from ‘Delia’s Complete Cookery Course’. It is extremely easy to make and a great way to use up those left overs in fridge.

The recipe includes lentils which are packed full of filling, muscle building protein plus they are full of fiber and have significant amounts of folate, iron (for energy) and magnesium (which helps keep your heart healthy). The soup is so yummy and really is a meal on its own, it honestly keeps you feeling full for HOURS afterwards!

Give it a go and let me know what you think…

Ingredients:

8 rashers smoked bacon (rind/fat removed)

175 g of Puy lentils

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 carrots chopped

2 medium onions, ch0pped

2 celery stalks, sliced

225g tin of tomatoes

2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

3 pints bouillon vegetable stock

225g cabbage, chopped

2 tbsp fresh parsley

salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a large cooking pot and fry the bacon in it until the fat begins to run. Then stir in the prepared carrots, onion and celery and, with the heat fairly high, toss them around to brown them a little at the edges. Now stir in the washed, drained lentils plus the contents of the tin of tomatoes followed by the crushed garlic then the stock.

As soon as the soup comes to the boil, put a lid on and simmer, as gently as possible, for about 1 hour. About 15 minutes before the end add the cabbage. Taste and season. Just before serving stir in the chopped parsley

Source: http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/soups/smoked-bacon-and-lentil-soup.html

Please note: I made a few minor changes to the original version. I used organic bouillon vegetable stock instead of homemade for speed. I also used back bacon instead of streaky and a few extra slices to increase the protein content.