← Nouns Cooking · French

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp Butter
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 1 Carrot, chopped
• 1 celery stick, chopped
• 250 g green or Puy lentils, rinsed
• 200 g Peeled chestnuts (cooked or vacuum-packed)
• 1.5 l chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 sprigs Thyme
• 1 Bay leaves
• 100 ml single cream or crème fraîche
• 100 g smoked lardons (optional)
• Salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat and cook the onion, carrot and celery for 8 min until soft.
2. Add the lentils, roughly chopped chestnuts (keep a few back for garnish), stock, thyme and bay. Bring to the boil, then simmer partly covered for 30–35 min until the lentils are completely soft.
3. Meanwhile, fry the lardons in a dry pan over medium heat for 6–8 min until crisp, adding the reserved chestnuts, crumbled, for the last 2 min.
4. Remove the herbs and blend the soup until very smooth, adding a little hot water if it is too thick. Stir in most of the cream and season.
5. Serve in warm bowls topped with the crispy lardons and chestnuts and a drizzle of the remaining cream.

Tips

• Skip the lardons and use vegetable stock for a vegetarian version.
• Vacuum-packed cooked chestnuts save all the peeling.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Chocolate & Zucchini Serious Eats