Since I was a very young girl I always remember my Gran’s old Belling stove tucked in the corner of the scullery with a big huge pot bubbling away.
Maybe it’s just the old fashioned girl in me, but lentil soup hits the mark every time. We all have a wee twist in a recipe that we want to pop in, however start with the basic and then, if spicy is your thing, add some chilli flakes, ground ginger and garam masala which will certainly heat things up.
What would your granny say if you added a spoon of creme fraiche with crispy bacon and chives?
Here's what you need
340g red split lentils
1 tbs oil
4 slices back bacon, finely diced, or a ham bone (optional) I use Ramsay’s of Carluke
2 medium onions, finely diced
3 carrots, grated
3 sticks celery, finely chopped
3 sprigs parsley finely chopped
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1.5 litres vegetable stock boiling
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Soften the onions, carrot,garlic, bayleaf and celery in a heavy based pot over a medium heat
2. Then add the lentils and bacon/ham if you are using them, pour over the hot stock
3. Simmer gently for 30 mins skimming off the top as you go
4. If you are using a bone remove this and the bay leaf now
5. You can either blend this in a liquidiser or leave a little more rustic
6. Pick the meat off the bone and stir through the soup, serve with a chunky doorstep of bread
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article