Hearty Red Lentil, Bacon and Potato Soup

I grew up eating lentil soup cooked by my mother, but those were green or French lentils. I had always heard that red lentils don't hold their texture so well. Serendipitously, I had a bag of red lentils in my pantry that have gone untouched for years; I honestly don't remember why I even bought them. This recipe seemed too simple, and boy is it ever, but the end result is illustrative of how just a few of the right ingredients combined in a certain way can make a stellar dish, and in a short time (30 mins if you know what you're doing). I did buzz it a couple of times with a stick blender to thicken it a little, but that's my personal taste. I will also add maybe a 1/4 to a 1/2 cup more lentils the next time because it's just a tad too brothy for me as prepared verbatim.

I think this soup was great! It was very easy, was pretty quick and was yummy!! The only thing was I followed the directions when the lentils were in the soup of exact time and everything but the lentils just kinda got mushy and dissolved into the soup. I would recommend maybe a little less time. And I would also recommend browning the bacon a little more so it’s more crispy and then adding the broth. But other than that it was a great soup!!