prep: 15 minutes
cook: 1 hour 25 minutes
cool: none
It’s not easy to find this soup on restaurant menus or in the canned soup aisle at the grocery store, which makes it a special one to make at home, and ideal for ushering in the cooler autumn months. The first soup of the season always feels like a special day in our house—a subtle signal that the season is changing and that our rhythms will soon change along with it.
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups diced yellow onion (about 1 large)
2 cups diced carrots (about 3)
1¼ cups diced celery (about 3 stalks)
3 smoked ham hocks (about 1½ pounds)
6 cups (1½ quarts) chicken broth
1 cup French green lentils
4 bay leaves
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt
1. In a large soup pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the ham hocks and broth and bring to a slow boil. Add the lentils and stir. Add the bay leaves, celery salt, pepper, vinegar, thyme, and salt to taste and bring the soup to a boil, stirring occasionally.
3. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until the lentils are tender, about 1 hour.
4. Remove the ham hocks and bay leaves. Discard the bay leaves. Shred the meat from the ham hocks and return to the pot (discard the bones, skin, and cartilage). Add more pepper to taste.
5. Serve hot.
6. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Makes 4 to 6 servings