A Hearty Afternoon

 So what should someone do with a day when there's a light snow outside and the kids are home early from school and entertaining themselves peacefully??  Make soup! I found a recipe in Almost Vegetarian, and then tweaked it to make it mine.  First I prepped:

1 sweet onion, chopped

4 carrots, chopped

1 rib celery, chopped

1 small fennel bulb, chopped

4 teaspoons garlic, minced

and then I set them aside while I did this......

in lieu of olive oil, well pork fat rules and I'm a huge sucker for pancetta!  I took 1/4 lb pancetta and diced it up, tossed it into a hot stock pot and cooked it until crispy.  I then pulled it out and set it aside, leaving the drippings and brown bits in the pot. Then I took 1 cup of pinot grigio and de-glazed the pan....ahhhh, now that's how you prep to cook veggies! :)  I then cooked all of the prepped veggies above until just soft.

 Then add one bunch swiss chard chopped, and cook about 2 minutes until just wilted.

 please don't be too distracted by the steam :)

Then add:

1 C Italian tomato puree

32 oz. veggie stock

1 C lentils, rinsed

Cook for about 20 minutes, or until lentils are just soft and then add 1/2 C brown rice and cook another 25 minutes or until the rice is done.  Then mix together 1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese and 1/4 C chopped Italian parsley. Toss combination into the pot and stir until incorporated. 

To serve, ladle into a bowl, drizzle with some good aged balsamic vinegar and garnish with crispy pancetta and grated parm.

 Happy Weekend!

Enjoy!