There's a chill in the air this morning, and just the kind of weather to make one crave soup. One of the tastiest and easiest soup to make is lentil soup. You can grab a bag of lentils and a ham hock at the grocery and use the recipe that's on the bag of lentils, or you can follow this one that I like.
Ingredients:
2 cups of lentils that have been washed (They do not need to be soaked.)
6 cups of water
1 ham hock*
1 cup of chopped or diced carrots (I used shredded ones that I had on hand.)
1/2 cup of chopped celery
1 cup of diced onions (I used frozen diced onions.)
1 bay leaf
1 garlic clove sliced
A grind or two of fresh pepper
Salt to taste (Optional, the ham hock is salty and may be enough for your taste.)**
1 cup of chopped fresh spinach (Optional)
Directions:
In a large pot, combine all the ingredients except the spinach if using. Bring to a boil and cover. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 40 to 50 minutes until the lentils are tender. Add the spinach and cook just until the spinach is wilted. Take out the ham hock, remove the meat, chop and return it to the pot. Remove the bay leaf and serve.
*I had asked my son to pick up a ham hock for me at the grocery and he didn't know what a ham hock was. I explained it is the lower part of the pig's leg between the ham and the foot. They are typically cured and smoked and available in the meat department of the grocery.
**I typically do not salt food as I cook it so that each person can add as much or as little salt as they desire when eating it.
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