And on the eighth day, God created lentils.
I have had a few meals off that pork roast that was 1.99/pound but was getting a bit frustrated trying to cut it what with the big bone in the middle, so I decided to cut the remaining meat off the bone and put the bone to work. There’s nothing like bones for enriching the flavor of a soup. A pork roast isn’t going to give me the same richness as a ham hock, so I needed to up the herbs to really get the most out of the soup.
I put 1/4 tablespoon of olive oil in my soup kettle and heated it, adding 2 teaspoons of cumin and a pinch of cinnamon and toasted them. Toasting herbs can bring out a smokier, deeper flavor. I then added another 1/4 tablespoon of oil and sauteed some garlic. Adding 4 cups of water, I put the bone in with a couple of bay leaves, salt and pepper. I put the lid on when it began to simmer and let is simmer all morning.
About 30 minutes before serving I added 1 cup of lentils and 1/2 cup of chopped onions. 15 minutes later, I added 1/2 cup of chopped celery, 1/2 cup of chopped carrots, 1 medium tomato, diced and a teaspooon of oregano. Just before serving I added a little more salt and pepper to taste. I put about 1/2 the soup veggies out and pureed them and poured them back in, stirring in the puree to thicken the soup a bit and served. This makes 4 servings of soup – but soup always tastes better the second or third day after it’s cooked, so you always want leftover soup.
Single Servings 