bill granger's puy lentil soup

I would not blame anybody for giving up on this blog given its general tardiness, quite niche audience and it transpires now, a case of overselling. In this case, last night's burnt-to-a-crip roast chicken which was still soaking in the bowl this afternoon.

Always the critic, especially when hungover, Ana quite rightly points out there's no point bigging up a cookery book if the first thing you cook from it is stuck to the bottom of the dish and tough as old boots. She might have a point, but I'm telling you because I want to, not because she told me to.

So in an effort to show why I love Bill Granger's Sydney Food, I roll out his puy lentil soup for a post Lions victory dinner. It also has the added bonus that I know it's a winner because I've cooked it at Kendras...

Essentially this is Bill's version of minestrone, with the addition of puy lentils.  Given it's provenance I also took the liberty of chucking in a couple of parmesan rinds from the freezer, which definitely adds some oompf.

Luckily for me it goes down a storm with both hungover Ana and hyperactive Milo: It's earthy, filling and stuffed with flavour. It's also pretty quick, has a headache-soothing zen amount of chopping and it turns out, is perfect for freezing. Bill's back in the game.

Wine Time
Plenty to get out teeth into here - sweet, acidic tomatoes, salty parmesan, earthy lentils plus a variety of herbs. Generally with soups you can get away with drinking crisp, dry aperitif wines like Chablis, but with the more rustic-style, heartier varieties you need something a little fuller-bodied. Given this is Italian in intent I reckon a Sangiovese would work a treat, as would I imagine the ever popular Montepulciano.

sources
puy lentil soup - Bill Granger, Sydney Food, p76