What is Conti soup? “It’s one of the great classics,” as Philip Echebest reminds us. He added “It’s a lentil-based soup, it’s another way to work with lentils” and promised “You’ll see it’s very good and for me it’s one of the 100 essential recipes to know how to do things at home everyday”. On the menu? An inexpensive recipe that is relatively quick to prepare (about 50 minutes at the chef’s discretion). FYI, Conti soup takes its name from the kitchens of Prince Conti, famous for taking with great finesse on your table Enough rambling, here’s the recipe without further ado!
List of ingredients (for 6 people):
60 g of bread
5 cloves of garlic
3 sprigs of fresh parsley
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 carrots
1 onion
1 tbsp. rapeseed oil
150 g of bacon
250 g of dried lentils
5 cl of white wine
1.75 liters of water
coarse salt
Preparation of the aromatic garnish
Peel the onion, the garlic cloves and the carrots, which you will finely chop
Halve the garlic, remembering to remove the seed, then crush it with a knife.
Also, chop your onion very very finely, even if it’s all going to be mixed together afterwards
Preparing the soup
Then take a fresh breast and cut it into pieces
As the chef notes, you don’t need to put in meat and you can very well make a vegetarian soup. He also specifies that he has taken “normal” tripe so that all budgets can reproduce this recipe, but that it is possible that those who can afford it may choose black pork tripe, a product that he considers ” outstanding’
Put the saute on the fire, adding a little canola oil and then oil. Mix the two.
Fry the pieces of bacon and caramelize them slightly
Mix well, then add the carrots, garlic and onion
Do not let the vegetables brown and add the lentils directly (no need to soak them in water beforehand)
Deglaze with white wine to add some acidity and dampen everything with water
Simmer for 40 minutes, season, then mix the preparation
Preparation for making beautiful croutons
Cut your bread into small pieces that you have previously grated with a clove of garlic for more flavor
Fry them in a pan in which you will pour olive oil
Add garlic to it
Fry your croutons in olive oil and turn them regularly
Chop the parsley very finely and add it to your croutons
Then remove them to a piece of paper towel to remove excess fat.
Arrange your croutons in the soup.
Ready !
Kahina Budjij