½lbsoup vegetablescarrots, leek, celery, parsley, parsnip or others
½lbpotatoes
¼tspthyme
2tbspbutter
0.1cupsflour
1pinchsugar
1tbspwine vinegar
Instructions
Soak the brown lentils in cold water overnight.Be sure, to have a meat stock ready the next day. You can use a ready-made one or home cook it.
On the next day, place lentils in a pot with enough water to cover. Add half an onion, cloves, bay leaf and half of the soup vegetables (carrots, celery, leeks or whatever you have). They don't have to be cut, as they will be removed after cooking.Cook the lentils for about 20 minutes, they should be half-cooked. If you have not soaked them overnight, it will take around 35 minutes. Just now add a little salt before the end of the cooking time.
While the lentils are cooking, peel the potatos and cut them in small pieces. Bring water with a bit of salt to a boil and cook the potato pieces until soft.
Now chop the other soup vegetables into small cubes, if you use leeks, cut only the dark green upper pat, not the white lower part.
Now it is time to drain the water from the cooked lentils. Also remove the soup vegetables, they have released all their flavour to the lentils. Refill the pot with either meat stock or vegetable stock. Now add the prepared chopped soup vegetable cubes, add thyme and cook for about 20 minutes more or until the veggies become soft.Now add the potatoe pieces and warm everything up for a little while.
In the meantime, dice the smoked bacon and fry in a frying pan until cripsy. Then add to the soup or sprinkle over it when serving your German lentil soup. If you have beef soup meat with your home made beef stock, add some little pieces to the soup also.
To thicken the brown lentil soup. we will do a roux. Melt the butter in a frying pan. Now stir in the flour carefully, stirring all the time with a whisk and let it brown a bit. Always use a little more butter than flour.Stir over medium heat for about 1 minute and allow to swell. The mixture should now be a thick and nicely brown. Now pour it into the hot soup, carefully, while stirring. Let cook for 1 minute more to thicken up the soup.
For the perfect hearty taste, the brown lentil soup now has to stand for at least 2 hours to develop its full flavour. It will thicken up a bit more during this time, so add a little water if desired and reheat before serving.
Now it is time to season the soup with a pinch of sugar, vinegar and salt to taste. It is supposed to taste a little sour and salty. But this is fully up to you and your likings. Add more or less vinegar.
Serve the German lentil soup in bowls or cups and eat as is.