Chef John's Black Lentil Soup

There's absolutely nothing wrong with green lentil soup, but once you start making it with black 'beluga' lentils, you'll have a hard time going back. These black beauties cook up melt-in-your-mouth tender, but still retain their structural integrity, which gives the soup both a thick, satisfying body, and a light, non-starchy mouthfeel.

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 60 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins
• Calories: 329 Calories

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 cup diced carrots
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 4 ounces bacon, chopped
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1 ¼ cups black beluga lentils
• 5 cups chicken broth, or as needed
• ¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided
• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, or as needed

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Heat vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook and stir bacon in hot oil until bacon is browned and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Add onion, carrot, celery, and salt; cook and stir until onion is softened and translucent, about 10 minutes. Season with black pepper, cumin, thyme, and cayenne pepper.

Step 2

Pour lentils into bacon mixture and stir to coat completely in rendered bacon fat. Add chicken broth and bay leaf; bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and cook, adding more chicken broth as needed, until lentils are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Step 3

Season with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste. Add 3 tablespoons parsley and stir. Ladle soup into bowls, sprinkle remaining parsley over the top and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil.