Hearty Lentil Soup

Matt told me he wanted to make our soup for lunch this week & oh, did he come up with a winner. This could seriously be my new favorite soup. Even better its full of stuff that's good for you like kale, carrots, leeks & lentils. I even like the dark color the kale gives the soup. If this soup doesn't warm you up on a cold day I don't know what will.

I tried another bread from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day to go with this soup. This time it was the Roasted Garlic Bread. This bread was amazingly tasty, I'm not sure if it was the spelt flour, ground flax seeds, roasted garlic or a mixture of all three. I gave Matt a little slice of it still warm from the oven & he said it tasted like it have been buttered even though there was no butter on or in it, now how's that for a healthy bread?!

This recipe makes much more servings than our usual recipe but freeze part of it & you'll be all set on those really busy holiday season days coming up.

Hearty Lentil Soup

1/2 lb good bacon, chopped
2 c leeks, white & light green parts sliced
1 c crimini mushrooms, chopped
1 1/2 c carrots, sliced
1 c lentils
2 c chicken broth or vegetable stock (our homemade stock is pretty intense, if you are using a canned broth you may want to use more broth & less water)
6 c water
1/2 t dry thyme
1 head curly red kale, chopped pretty fine
salt & pepper

Cook the bacon over medium heat in a large soup pot until it renders its fat, 7 - 10 minutes. Add the leeks and cook 2 - 3 minutes to soften. Add mushrooms and carrots then cook 2 - 3 minutes more. Add the lentils, broth, water, thyme, kale plus salt & pepper to taste. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover & simmer for 40 minutes or until the lentils are tender.

8 servings

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