Warm lentils with bacon

This is one of my favorite recipes of all time.  Period.  It is DELICIOUS, nutritious and it has bacon it in!  What more could you ask for?  Every time I make it, it comes out amazing; even when I substitute 5 year old split peas for the lentils!

Warm lentils with bacon

Note:
This dish is largely dependent on bacon for its flavor, so use the best you can find. It is also good with kidney or other red beans; cook them until nearly tender, then drain before adding them to the onion mixture.


Ingredients


•1 tablespoon olive or other oil
•1/4 pound slab bacon, more or less, cut into small cubes
•1 medium onion, chopped
•1 carrot, peeled and diced
•3 to 4 cups chicken, beef, or vegetable stock, or water; or use 1/2 water and 1/2 red wine
•2 cups lentils, washed and picked over
•Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
•1 bay leaf
•2 or 3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
•About 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar, or to taste
•Minced fresh parsley leaves for garnish

Procedure:1) Place the oil in a medium saucepan and turn the heat to medium. Cook the bacon in the oil, stirring occasionally, until nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the fat in the pot.


2) Cook the onion and carrot in the rendered fat over medium heat until the onion softens, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add 3 cups of liquid and bring to a boil over medium‐high heat. Stir in the lentils, salt and pepper, and the bay leaf and thyme.


3) Cover partially and cook over medium‐low heat, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are nice and tender, 30 minutes or more; add additional liquid as needed, but do not let the mixture become too soupy.


4) When the lentils are soft, raise the heat and boil off any excess liquid if necessary. Stir in about 1 teaspoon vinegar; taste and add more if necessary. Remove and discard bay leaf. Stir in the reserved bacon just before serving, then garnish and serve.

I definitely recommend adding in the red wine vinegar; it makes a difference.  However, if you don't have any it is still very good without it.  You can substitute in split peas and it turns out just as well.  I can never find slab bacon so I just use the best bacon I can find.  This time around I used turkey bacon which didn't leave a lot of fat behind for the onion to cook in but still tasted great!  This recipe is one of my treats that I fall back on every once in a while.  I would definitely like to make it more often!

Warm (split-peas) with bacon