Scottish Lentil Soup with Crème Fraîche, Bacon and Chives

Scottish Lentil Soup

Scottish Lentil Soup is the perfect answer to cold, dreich (doric for dull, bleak and miserable) weather. This is the sort of recipe that makes me feel happy. It is the sort of thing I have been eating since I was a little girl, the sort of soup my dad is really good at making. As with most Scottish recipes, you take some basic ingredients and make something wholesome and filling. You can transform simple onions, carrots and red lentils into a warming, super healthy and potentially vegan soup. However if you throw caution to the wind, and add Crème Fraîche, Bacon and Chives you can turn the same soup into a feast!

The never ending winter.

Seems the groundhog got it right this year, back on February 2nd or Groundhog Day. In Punxsutawney, the most famous groundhog in the world, Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter and that is exactly what we are getting.  In all fairness I have just been back to the States and missed the super cold weather in Copenhagen. I have had almost two weeks of, if not balmy weather, then certainly blue skies. True California was a little cooler than usual but still super gorgeous. Fun to hang out with kids, and Jackson the newest member of our family!

Back in Connecticut visiting friends, I narrowly missed the huge winter storm that hit the East coast. I flew out the night before. We managed to walk at least once every day along the gorgeous beaches.

I arrived in London just in time for the snowstorm that brought the city to a standstill (one inch of snow). It was rather eerie having London pretty much to ourselves.  Only half our friends made it to Alan’s college reunion dinner.

And arrived back in Copenhagen just as the ice started to melt.

I think I have missed some spectacular cold weather, where all the waterways were frozen. However even though the ice is starting to disappear, we are still having more snow. This soup is the perfect solution for when you want to stay inside, hygge and stay warm. Serve with crusty bread. For some reason on Tuesdays I always make ‘soup and pudding’. So I celebrated the return of plums to Copenhagen ( totally seasonal food shopping here) by making a large Plum Crumble. A winning combination!

Scottish Lentil Soup with Crème Fraîche, Bacon and Chives

March 7, 2018

Servings: Four generous servings

Difficulty: easy peasy

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A simple warming soup made with everyday ingredients, potentially vegan but can be transformed into a feast by the addition of very non vegan Crème Fraîche, Bacon and Chives

By: Carolyn Eddie

Ingredients

• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 2 small sticks of celery, finely sliced
• 4 large carrots, diced
• little olive oil
• 1 cup/6oz/175g small red lentils
• 5-6 cups/2 1/4pints/11/2 liters of vegetable or chicken stock, more may be required if soup is too thick or has to serve more people!
• To Finish
• 1/4 lb/100g lardons or cubes of bacon
• crème fraîche
• chives, chopped

Directions

• Step 1 Heat a large slug of olive oil in a large soup pan.
• Step 2 Add onion, carrots and celery and sweat for 5-10 minutes.
• Step 3 Rinse lentils, then add to vegetables.
• Step 4 Add stock and cook until lentils and carrots are fully cooked. Around 4o minutes.
• Step 5 If desired, puree with immersion blender.
• Step 6 To serve
• Step 7 Cook lardons in a pan until nicely browned.
• Step 8 Add hot soup to serving bowls.
• Step 9 Top with a dollop of crème fraîche, cooked bacon and some snipped chives.