Smoked pancetta and lentil soup
A hearty yet healthy filling soup! It's a great lunch to take to work and can be frozen in batches to have on standby in the freezer.
Each serving provides 428 kcal, 29g protein, 45g carbohydrate, 12g fat, 10g fibre.
Ingredients
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 80²µ/2¾´Ç³ú pancetta, finely diced into 5mm/¼in pieces
- 1 large onion (about 100g/3½oz), finely chopped
- 2 carrots (about 200g/7oz), peeled and finely chopped
- 4 celery sticks (about 150g/5½oz), trimmed and finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp thyme leaves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1.5 litres/2¾ pints chicken stock
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 250g/9oz red lentils
- 250g/9oz (about ½ head) Chinese leaf cabbage or savoy cabbage, shredded
- large handful fresh flatleaf parsley, roughly chopped
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Heat the oil in a saucepan over a high heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring, for about 2–3 minutes, or until the fat has rendered and the bacon is golden and crisp. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
Add the onion and carrots to the pancetta pan and cook for 5 minutes until the onion is softened. Add the celery and garlic and cook for a further 3–4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the thyme, bay leaf, stock and tomatoes, stir and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the lentils and cook for 20–25 minutes, or until they are softened. Remove the bay leaf and use a stick blender or food processor to partially blend the soup, keeping a fairly chunky texture.
Bring the soup back to a simmer, add the cabbage and cook for 3–4 minutes until wilted. Reheat the pancetta in a small frying pan at the same time.
Stir half of the parsley into the soup and ladle into warmed bowls. Serve immediately topped with the pancetta and remaining parsley.