You can’t mess with perfection, but you can add bacon to it. One of my favorite food peeps from Quickies on the Dinner Table made this http://quickiesonthedinnertable.yolasite.com/recipes/chickpea-garlic-and-b , and it took all but 24 hours for me to grab some chickpeas from my cupboard, and put the old soup pot on the stove.  And then I made it again. I threw in a few more veggies I needed to use up, but in no means does this soup suffer in its original version. I just made a big brother version of my food sister’s smooth beauty of a soup.

Chickpea Lentil Garlic Soup

4 slices of bacon, cooked until crisp, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

10  cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped

2 shallots, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 stalk of celery, chopped

1 can of chickpeas, rinsed

1/2 cup green lentils

1 sprig fresh rosemary, minced

pinch of dried oregano,dried marjoram, dried basil, and dried thyme (of course use fresh if you have it)

3 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth

Salt and Pepper

chopped parsley

Parmigiano-Reggiano

After sauteing bacon, remove bacon, and add shallot, carrot, and celery, season with salt, and saute until softened. Adding olive oil if needed. Add garlic, and rosemary during last two minutes of sauteing.

Add herbs, and chickpeas. Saute for a minute.

Add broth. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add lentils and saute for 20 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with bacon, chopped parsley, and Parmigiano Reggiano.

Although I am a proponent of eating at the table, we end up eating off of a little step stool, sitting on the floor, more often than I’d like to admit. But unlike the stereotype, no bonding, or conversation is lost. Promise.

Some meals are meant to be eaten a little bit closer. This one is a prime candidate. Abandon the table, and grab a pillow and/or blanket, and cuddle up with some soup.