A flavourful, spicy soup with basic ingredients you probably already have in your house! Except…
Greek Lentil Soup with Bacon
Bacon is kind of the rage these days, but I guess I’m a bacon hipster, I loved it before it was cool. As a child I was the pickiest of picky eaters, and wouldn’t eat any meat, except bacon. My parents tried the “trickery method” to get me to eat other meat too… they would give me chicken and tell me that it was bacon. My sense of taste, however, was stronger than they realized and I saw right through the lies!
As a side note, don’t try to trick your children into eating foods they haven’t yet learned to like. Once the truth has been revealed you will begin to lose their trust. Trust is the cornerstone of every relationship and the feeding relationship you have with your children is no exception.
But back to bacon… it’s very flavourful, which means it’s very difficult to stop at one piece! Even after being cooked, it contains more fat than protein, so the calories can be overdone if you’re not careful.
In order to enjoy the flavour of bacon without using up all my self control for the day, I just add a couple of slices to soup. All the flavour, minimal calories. Win win.
If you give this recipe a go, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or snap a photo and tag it with #smartnutritionrecipes on Instagram! I’d love to see your creations! Knowing someone has enjoyed one of my recipes always makes my day brighter.
Greek Lentil Soup with Bacon
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 onions chopped
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 1 large carrot shredded
- 8 cloves garlic minced
- 4 slices bacon cut in small pieces
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon Chicken Better Than Bouillon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon rosemary
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- 12 cups water
- 2 ½ cups red lentils
- 6 teaspoons lemon juice
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the oil over medium low.
- Saute the onion, celery, and carrots until soft.
- Add in the garlic, bacon, and red pepper flakes and cook 1 minute.
- Add in the bouillon, salt, rosemary, oregano, bay leaves, water, and lentils. Heat to boiling then simmer until the lentils are soft.
- Remove from heat and add in the lemon juice. Remove the bay leaves.
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I made this and it was indeed delicious. I’m surprised about one thing though. There’s a lot of fat in even just 4 slices if bacon. I fried it first and drained the fat but consequently I don’t taste the bacon that much. Didn’t you find the soup fatty or did you buy extra lean bacon?
Hmm.. yes, the fat carries the bacon flavour so I can see why you didn’t get a strong taste of it.
I didn’t find the soup to be fatty nor did I buy extra lean bacon. Perhaps it’s a matter of personal preference?
Excellent stuff x