Lentil Soup with Sausage and Bacon
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Ingredients
  • 8 strips smoked bacon, sliced into ¼-inch pieces
  • 1 pound link sweet Italian sausage
  • 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ¼ pound celery root (celeriac) pared and minced
  • 1 medium onion, minced (about ½ cup)
  • 1 rib celery, minced (about ½ cup)
  • 1 cup dried lentils, rinsed
  • 5 cups chicken broth, homemade or canned
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
  • Garnish: sliced fresh chives or fresh dill, and reserved cooked bacon pieces

Instructions
  1. Cook bacon pieces in large skillet or pot over medium-high heat stirring often; drain on a paper towel-lined plate, leaving one Tablespoon of drippings; turn heat to medium. Add sausage link to pan and brown lightly on both sides. Reduce heat to low, cover pan, and continue to cook until cooked through. Remove sausage and set aside, leaving one Tablespoon drippings. Turn heat back up to medium.
  2. Add butter to drippings in pan and melt. Stir in the celery root, onion, celery, and lentils. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes. Add chicken broth and heat to boiling. Turn heat to low, and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until lentils are very soft, about 50 minutes to an hour.
  3. Meanwhile, slice sausage into ½-inch rounds and set aside.
  4. When lentils are done, remove pan from heat and let cool with the lid off for about 10 minutes. Transfer about ⅔ of the soup to a blender or food processor and purée. Pour back into pan with remaining soup and stir. Add the sausage slices and all but ⅓ cup of the bacon, reserving the ⅓ cup to sprinkle on top of soup servings for garnish along with some chives for each serving.
  5. Heat soup over medium heat until hot, adding salt and pepper to taste. Ladle servings into soup bowls and garnish each with sprinklings of chives and reserved bacon pieces. Serves 6 to 8.
Recipe by The Culinary Cellar at https://theculinarycellar.com/cuisine-magazine-september-1980/