Better Late...

OK, so it's not January 1st or New Year's Eve, anymore. So the good luck for the year eating traditions don't really count, anymore. But that doesn't mean you can't still have a nice soup to warm you up when it's cold out.

My family's tradition for New Year's Eve is to have lentils for luck. Each lentil you eat is supposed to bring you a bit of luck in the New Year, and if you get a bay leaf, that's super good luck, so I leave them loose in this recipe.

I thought I'd share my dad's recipe with you:

Lentil Soup

Serves 10 

• 1/4 LB bacon, diced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 leek, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 TBSP flour
• 2 qt beef stock or broth
• 2 cups lentils
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 whole cloves
• 4 frankenfurters, sliced
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste 

 Cook bacon until lightly browned in a large saucepan. Add celery, leek, carrot and onion and cook until vegetables are tender, not browned. Stir in flour, then stir in stock and lentils. Add bay leaves and cloves which have been tied into a cheesecloth bag. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for two hours. Discard spice bag. If lentils have not cooked up, run through a fine sieve. Add frankenfurters, vinegar and salt and pepper. Heat to serving temperature.

I personally don't add salt to this, as the bacon adds that. I also don't run this through a sieve, because I like the texture as it is. I suppose you could run it through a food processor to puree it, if that's your preference. I use one package kielbasa sausage, rather than franks. And most certainly, if you're a vegetarian I encourage you to play with egetarian options for this and share with us!

Meanwhile, good eats!