Green Lentils and Ham
Ingredients:
1 yellow onion
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1 cup celery
1 cup carrots
4 T olive oil
4 cups leftover Easter ham, cubed
4 cups chicken stock
1 can tomato sauce
1/4 cups red wine
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
In a large soup pot sauté onions, garlic, celery, and carrots in oil. Add parsley, and salt and pepper. Sauté until translucent about 8 minutes. Add ham and allow to render down a little then pour in chicken stock, tomato sauce, red wine and lentils. Reduce heat and simmer for about an hour until lentils are done.Serve with a really good corn bread. We'll save the recipe for the corn bread for another time but it's worth waiting for.
This is a great recipe for after Easter when one has a lot of ham lying about and only so much tolerance for ham and mustard sandwiches. Due to the surprise cold snap we had plummeting us into sub-freezing temperatures here in Colorado I needed something warm, and something satisfying in order to prevent a grocery store run. Lentils and ham are so wholesome one might shed a tear at the sheer satisfaction they brings. The flavors are subtle but their combination leads to a salty fresh tasting bite that is truly a workers stew, lots of protein and fiber with a bit of crass character to finish it out.
