Lemon Lentil Soup
Bean soup, vegetable soup recipe

Want something hearty to warm you up after skiing or playing in the snow? Just try this delicious recipe for Lemon Lentil Soup. It's not only satisfying but it's good for you too. Great for warm get-togethers and filling up a hungry crowd.

What you'll need:
- 1 1/2 cups of dried lentils
- 2 bacon slices
- 1 cup of chopped onions
- 2 medium carrots (sliced)
- 1 celery stalk (sliced)
- 1 garlic clove (minced)
- 6 cups of water
- 1 tsp. of grated lemon peel
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 1/2 tsp. of salt
- 1 large potato (peeled and diced)
- 3 Tbsp. of lemon juice
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 4 large Swiss chard leaves or the equivalent amount of fresh spinach leaves (shredded)

What to do:

1. Sort and rinse lentils and place in a 4-quart pot.

2. Fry bacon in a large skillet until crispy. Drain and cool the bacon on paper towels making sure that you reserve 2 Tbsp. of the bacon drippings and discard the rest. Once cooled, crumble the cooked bacon and put aside.

3. Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic to the reserved drippings in the the skillet.

4. Sauté over medium high heat until the onion is tender. Add the sautéed vegetables to the lentils. Stir in the water, lemon peel, bay leaf, salt and diced potato. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat.

5. Cover and simmer until lentils are tender, about 45 minutes.

6. Stir in the crumbled bacon, lemon juice, cumin and Swiss chard or spinach.

7. Ladle the hot soup into a warmed thermos or soup mugs.

This delicious Lemon Lentil Soup recipe serves 5 people (2 cups each).

For a more complete listing of soup recipe ideas, visit my Soup Recipe Index page.