Belinda Jeffery

I have to confess that I’m a soup person and will happily eat it at any time of year. However, there’s just something about a fresh wind and briskness in the air that makes it rise to the top of my list of dishes I most crave. Of all the soups I make, the lentil and smoked pancetta soup in this photograph is my favourite. It has a warm, rich, smoky flavour and is satisfyingly chunky with lentils and vegetables. I tend to make it in double batches and freeze half for a later date.

Serves 4

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook it for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it’s golden and translucent. Stir in the garlic and chilli and cook them for 1–2 minutes. Now tip in the carrots and celery, increase the heat a little and cook them, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes. Finally, add the pancetta and swizzle it around with the spoon so it releases its delectable aroma.

Scoop in the sun-dried tomato pesto and cook it, stirring all the while, for a minute or so until it’s fragrant. Pour in the sugo or passata and mix it in well. As soon as it starts to bubble, reduce the heat and leave it to simmer, uncovered, for 25 minutes.

While the tomato mixture is simmering, wash the lentils. To do this, pour them into a big fine sieve, submerge this in a bowl of cold water, and swish them around with your hand, changing the water as necessary until it’s clear. With puy lentils it’s hard to see any little pebbles because of their dark colour, but check as best you can and remove any you find.

Add the lentils, along with the water or stock, to the tomato mixture. Bring this to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the soup, covered, for 20–25 minutes, or until the lentils are cooked but still have a bit of bite. (What I love about puy lentils is that they tend to stay whole and keep their texture rather than disintegrating into a mush.) Taste the soup and add a little lemon juice to sharpen it, and salt if necessary.

Just before you’re ready to serve the soup, stir in the spinach, if using, and heat it for 2–3 minutes, or until the leaves have wilted. Ladle the soup into deep bowls and serve with bread.

Puy lentils

These beautiful little slate-grey–green lentils come from France’s Haute-Loire region and are considered by many to be the best in the world. The soil there is particularly rich in minerals and they say this is what gives these lentils their distinctive earthy flavour. They are expensive but the good news is that puy-style lentils are grown in Australia and are very good. You’re most likely to find them in good health and specialty food stores.