Store-Cupboard Soup
I always have basic vegetables like carrots and celery in my fridge as they can form the base for so many dishes. Here, with a few extra cupboard items, you can make a fantastic soup in no time. Feel free to puree or half-puree the soup or leave it all chunky, depending on how you like it. Sometimes, I add a few dried porcini mushrooms to make it extra special.
I always have basic vegetables like carrots and celery in my fridge as they can form the base for so many dishes. Here, with a few extra cupboard items, you can make a fantastic soup in no time. Feel free to puree or half-puree the soup or leave it all chunky, depending on how you like it. Sometimes, I add a few dried porcini mushrooms to make it extra special.
- olive oil
- extra virgin olive oil
- 3 stalks celery chopped
- 2 cloves garlic sliced
- fresh ingredients
- 2 rashers smoked streaky bacon chopped
- 2 whole red onions chopped
- 2 whole carrots chopped
- a few sprigs flat leaf parsley chopped
- bread to serve
- store cupboard ingredients
- 0.5 teaspoon dried thyme
- 0.5 teaspoon dried chiles crumbled
- 200 grams dried lentils
- 1 cube vegetable stock
- Carbohydrate 17.5373043748938 g
- Cholesterol 9.637 mg
- Fat 16.8228131249978 g
- Fiber 2.87422182673022 g
- Protein 3.69500937497755 g
- Saturated Fat 3.55413215624976 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (253g)
- Sodium 185.010031249921 mg
- Sugar 14.6630825481636 g
- Trans Fat 1.13779346874934 g
- Calories 230 calories
Step-by-step
- Place a large saucepan over medium heat. Add a glug of oil, then bacon. Slowly fry for 6 minutes until the bacon has started to release its tasty fat and go crispy.
- Add thyme, chilli, onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Cover and gently cook for about 15 minutes until softened. Add lentils and 1 litre (4 cups) water and crumble in stock cube if using. Bring to the boil and simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes until softened . (Check the packet instructions as different lentils vary in cooking time. If you're mixing the lentils, cook for the longest amount of time to make sure they're all cooked properly.
- Add beans and if the soup's a little thick, add some water. Bring back to the boil and simmer for another 10 minutes, then taste and season. Ladle into bowls and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oiL and the parsley. Serve with hunks of bread.
Why is the liquid still watery instead of rich? Achieving proper body in a pulse-based soup relies entirely on starch release and fat emulsification. Transforming pantry staples into a cohesive pot requires understanding how different components interact over heat.
- Render the smoked bacon over medium heat for precisely six minutes to dissolve the intramuscular fat, which coats the bottom of the saucepan and prevents the subsequent aromatics from scorching.
- Cover the pot with a lid during the fifteen-minute vegetable softening phase to trap steam, allowing the cellular walls of the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic to collapse uniformly without browning.
- Verify lentil doneness visually and texturally by pressing a single grain against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon; it should yield with zero resistance rather than offering a crunchy center.
- Adjust the final viscosity by blending half the batch while leaving the remaining lentils and vegetables intact, creating a dual-texture profile that balances creaminess with rustic bite.
- Finish each bowl with a raw extra virgin olive oil drizzle just before serving to add a pungent, herbaceous top note that cuts through the earthy legumes.
Judicious seasoning applied at the very end prevents over-salting as the broth reduces. Ladling the finished mixture alongside thick hunks of bread turns economical dried goods into a substantial meal.
