Rice soup with lentils – Minestra di riso

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 60 g lentils, brown, dried
• 400 g water
• 30 g smoked bacon, streaky
• 10 g celery
• 6 small onions, red
• 2 medium-sized garlic cloves
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 200 g tomatoes, peeled, from the can
• 150 g tomato juice, from the can
• 14 g chicken stock powder
• 1 tbsp Italian herbs, frozen or dried
• 60 g rice
• 2 tbsp celery leaves
• 2 tsp paste (red pizza paste) *

Instructions

Working time approx. 25 minutes; Rest time approx. 16 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 17 hours 5 minutes

Cooked with plenty of tomatoes and strongly seasoned, this soup is a primo piatto from Umbria, Italy.

Soak the lentils overnight in 200g of water, then cook for 10-15 minutes the next day until tender, then strain. Cut the bacon into small cubes. Wash the fresh celery, shake dry, and pick off any unblemished leaves. Roughly chop and freeze, leaving only 2 tablespoons (for garnishing). Cut the leafless and unblemished stalks crosswise into approximately 3mm wide rolls. Take the appropriate amount. Freeze any unused stalks as rolls. Weigh the frozen goods and thaw. Finely chop the onions and garlic cloves. Mix everything together with the bacon. Heat the olive oil in a 2-liter saucepan and gently fry the bacon mixture. Drain the peeled (and seedless) tomatoes well and chop roughly. Add the tomato juice from the can to the desired weight. Deglaze the fried bacon with the remaining water and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the tomato pieces, chicken broth, and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add enough broth to the lentils to just cover them. Stop cooking the broth. Wash the rice, strain it, and let it drain well. Add 1.8 times the dry weight of the broth and simmer for 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the rice swell for 25 minutes. Heat the lentils. Fluff the rice and heat briefly. Bring the broth to a boil. Divide the lentils and rice among serving plates, pour in the broth, garnish, serve, and enjoy. * The recipe for the Red Pizza Paste can be found here: https://www.chefkoch.de/rezepte/3900541594283148/Rote-Pizzapaste-Pesto-rosso.html