Lentil Soup

People close to me know I have 2 best friends, Siri and Shazam. Yesterdays’ search was about the difference between locust and grasshoppers. I saw a Travel or Discovery channel about catastrophic events. But, I leave that for another day or never. I should also credit Google for facilitating the searches and making them earlier by aggregating all the data they collect from us then share back due to their algorithms. I vowed to stop eating pork last year. But, for the New Year’s Day meal, I made an exception. After researching superstitions and food for New Year’s Day, I was limited to two traditional protein options, pork and fish. 2020 was so disastrous, we only wanted to serve “forward” looking proteins. I was left with a ham bone. That meant lentil or split pea soup. Yea! Today I am making lentil soup. And, two things to research out of curiosity. The first question is, “What is the origin of lentil soup” and the other is whether I can use the same ham bone to cook two soups. I am concerned that the second soup might be more like nail or stone soup. As an aside, although Wikipedia states the story has a moral about sharing, the version I heard was closer to being hoodwinked. Not sure of the lesson there. Maybe be wary of strangers offering things too good to be true. According to Wikipedia, the version I heard of the story is German. It is called, “Der schlaue Pilgrim” (“The Cunning Pilgrim”, 1811).

One bone, two soups

I wish I had read the articles first. The best idea since I have a large hambone with meat on it is to make a large batch of stock and use it across two recipes. My next choice is to make the second stock in my Ninja foodie. I can pressure cook the bone and meat to coax the last of the collagen and flavor out of it. I also learned that there is a word for re-using stock ingredients twice. The word, remouillage,  means rewetting. Chicken bones may be used one time (possibly up to three times). Beef bones may be used in broths until they go soft or disintegrate up to twelve times. Of course, each successive batch will have less flavor. That is why I think the large stock idea makes sense. Another option is to cut the bone in two pieces to use separately. I have no clue how I could safely cut a hambone and it create visions Dexter, so I decline that option. I stored my leftover hambone in the freezer. One article cited the  U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s guidelines which recommends storing it in a sealed container up to 3 or 4 days safely. Do use fresh vegetables, herbs, and spices each time. I did learn something I did not know and read something I did know. A ham bone stored in an airtight container is safe to eat indefinitely. The taste may suffer after 1 year. I figured taste would suffer after several months up to 6. But, had no idea about lasting indefinitely. According to one article, Ham is a lean protein, low in cabs, fat and fiber.  Ham contains important vitamins, minerals, and all nine amino acids. It’s particularly rich in selenium.

The Recipe

I usually use salt, pepper, minimal onion, a bay leaf and after I cook the soup add a little ketchup. But, since the hambone had a glaze, I thought the ketchup might clash. I used ¾ of a large red onion diced, and a whole, large diced carrot sauteed in butter and olive oil. No garlic. Then I added 5 cups of water and the ham bone. After about 15 or 20 minutes, I poured off much of the liquid and simmered the washed and drained lentils on low heat for about 30 minutes. I kept the bone on low heat. Once the lentil absorb the liquid and were still firm (not mushy), I added the ham left on the bone and simmered for about 15 minutes more. During that time, I toasted some sourdough bread. I put the bone back in the freezer. Suzi rarely eats lunch so when she came into the kitchen asking what smelled so good, I knew the soup was a success.

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Soup

https://findanyanswer.com/can-you-use-a-ham-bone-more-than-once

https://www.thesocialdilemma.com

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/is-ham-healthy#nutrition

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskCulinary/comments/abuqwp/can_i_get_two_different_dishes_out_of_the_same/