Lentils

In the margins of the recent Derby, I made some traditional lentil soup, the first such for a while. The most recent that I can find being that at reference 1, just before Christmas. Using the bacon noticed at reference 2. 

The arrangements for the big day meant that it was convenient to make the soup the day before the Derby and start to eat it the day after. 

So 8oz of red lentils simmered for a while in 2l of water. Virtually no dead flies on this occasion, even though I had not bothered to wash the lentils.

Thickly sliced some carrots. Good crunchy carrots with plenty of bite as it happens. Put aside.

Gently fry garlic, onion and bacon (adding them in that order) in some butter. Garlic crumbs brown, onion slivers soft.

Add the carrots 5 minutes before turning the heat off. Add the garlic etc just before turning the heat off. When cool, into the refrigerator with it.

Heated it up the following day, starting slowly as it catches very easily. Supervised by myself, but it still caught a bit. I tried not to stir the catchings in as this particular soup is very easily tainted that way.

Taken with some greens on the side as an amuse bouche and brown bread. Not bad, but it would have been a lot better had I not added the carrots until the reheating. As it was, they were rather soft, just the sort of thing you might get in a restaurant or out of a tin.

Transferred the balance to a pyrex bowl (French) for microwaving the following day. Saucepan easy enough to clean, but I think the stuff on the bottom would have tainted the stuff on top had we carried on with it.

Second half much the same as the first half.

Maybe next time, get a hock and then make it when we want to eat it.

PS: the bacon from Ben the Butcher did not look very clever fresh out of its plastic packet, but it looked a lot better when it had dried out a bit in the refrigerator. I took some of it with bread, and it was fine. BH put the balance in a Quiche Lorraine where it did fine too. First half eaten when it was still warm out of the oven, when they are at their best. Not hot, as they need to settle down a but, to set a bit, after cooking. What one calls resting in roasts.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2023/12/festive-legumes.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2024/06/trolley-695.html.