Lentil Soup and Spaghetti with herbs

After a grueling day of classes, I came home and before I even thought about dinner, food, or cooking, I thought about how comfortable my bed was….four hours later, I woke up from a hearty nap, and I was hungry. It’s been a bit chilly lately, so I wanted something warm and comforting, and for me, that (usually) means pasta and some sort of soup.

Tonight, it was spaghetti and lentil soup. I kept the pasta fresh, and clean tasting with just some nice handfuls of chopped fresh parsley and basil, a little black pepper, a pat of butter, and of course, the king of cheeses, Pecorino Romano. I did learn this. Bacon is not always the best thing to add to spaghetti! A first for me, since I’ve been known to eat bacon with anything (Bacon with beef, bacon with jello, bacon with bacon, (you get the picture). The problem was the texture. The bacon overshadowed the fresh parsley and basil with its smokiness. Next time I’ll put the bacon in the lentil soup. Ohhhh yeah babe.

The lentil soup was simple. Celery, carrot, onions and garlic, coriander, black pepper, bay leaf tomato paste and some salt. Mixed together in one of my favorite solvents (chicken broth), it took about half an hour to bring this meal together. A little smoked provolone right at the end gave this dish a nice smoky introduction to the palate , which was followed with the wonderful earthiness of the lentils. However, when I make this dish again, I’ll swap the smoked provolone of the lentil soup with the bacon I put in the pasta.

I am really learning the value of sweating some lardons before cooking a dish. I used to think “How come these chefs use so little bacon for such a huge dish? There’s not even enough to SEE the bacon in the end!” Now I realize that the flavor of that bacon just blends so well with the other ingredients throughout the cooking process, that the cooked bacon is just an added bonus at the end. I learned that using a gallon of water or more (ata minimum) is an absolute MUST for the pasta, since it gives the strands plenty of room to dance in their vigorous water bath without being crowded.

The biggest lesson I take away from preparing this meal is that sometimes fresh herbs, a little butter, and some cheese on spaghetti really can be a simple comfort food, and that man cannot live on bacon bits alone. 5 recipes down, 495 to go.