serves 4
Start at least 2.5 hours before serving
15 - 20 min. to make; 50-60 minutes to simmer
source: based on a recipe from Eintöpfe - Alles Gute in einem Topf, 1991, page 57
One particularly nice thing about this recipe -- you can almost make it during your first reading. There is time built in for every step; just perform each step as you read it.
| 200 g lentils 1 liter water 30 g smoked bacon 150 g potatoes 3 - 4 carrots, with tops 1/2 leek 100 g celerie root |
1 bay leaf 2 cloves black pepper (to taste) salt (to taste) 2-3 Tablespoons mild vinegar 10 g butter 2 Tablespoons sugar 125 g whipping cream (optional) |
Place the lentils in the water and allow to stand for at least one hour. (You can soak them overnight in the refrigerator, if you prefer.)
Dice the bacon, and fry in a medium-sized pan. Dice the onion and fry in the bacon fat until transparent. Add the lentils and the water, mix well, and bring to a steady but gentle boil.
Wash and scrape the carrots, then slice them. Peel and cube (about 1cm) the potatotes. Slice the leek (about 0.5cm wide). Finely chop the carrot greens. Add all the vegetables, the bay leaf and the cloves to the boiling soup, and salt and pepper to taste. Allow the soup to gently boil for 50 or 60 minutes; you may need to add water from time to time.
Season the soup with the vinegar (start with 2 Tablespoons; add the third if you like the soup to be a bit more sour).
Shortly before serving, melt the butter in a small pan and carmelize the sugar; add the carmelized sugar to the soup and mix well. If you want to include the whipping cream (or even skim milk!), mix it in well now.
Serve with small frankfurters or other sausages. (I like to add the frankfurters to the soup, to heat them before serving.)