I don't normally cook with a lot of chard because neither TF nor I are big fans of it. I don't hate it, but I like kale and spinach better. And TF is strongly averse to it, so I usually just swap in kale anywhere that chard is called for.

I'm not cooking for TF right now though. I'm cooking for Reiver. And he has a whole garden full of chard (silverbeet), so I've been taking advantage of the fresh garden vegetables.

He also had some duck breast confit in convenient, ready-to-eat packages. So I figured they would work just as well as legs for this soup and make good use of ingredients on hand.

Lentil & Chard Soup

From Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan (p. 123)

Ingredients

• 2-3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 yellow onion, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 carrot, peeled and minced
• 2 cups Puy (French) lentils, picked over and rinsed
• 8-10 c. water
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 thyme sprigs
• 1/2 Tbsp. coarse sea salt (or vegetable stock powder/concentrate), divided
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 6 large chard leaves, chopped, including ribs
• 2 duck legs confit
• 8 baguette slices¹, cut on the diagonal

Directions

1. Warm 1 Tbsp. of the oil over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent (~2 minutes).
3. Add the garlic and carrot and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 2-3 minutes.
4. Stir in the lentils and water² and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.
5. Add the bay leaf, thyme, 1 tsp. salt (or stock powder), and pepper and simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Add the chard and duck legs and cook until the lentils are almost tender (20–25 minutes).
7. Transfer the duck legs to a cutting board and, when they are cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skin.
8. Cut off the meat, discarding the bones. Coarsely chop the meat and stir all but about 1⁄4 cup into the soup.
9. Cook until the lentils are tender but not mushy (~10 minutes longer).
10. Remove and discard the bay leaf and thyme sprigs and stir in 1⁄2 tsp. salt.
11. Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, warm the 2 Tbsp oil over medium-high heat.
12. Add half of the baguette slices and fry until golden (~3 minutes). Turn and fry until golden on the other side (~2 minutes). Transfer to a paper towel–lined plate.
13. Repeat with the remaining baguette slices.
14. Ladle the soup into bowls. Garnish each with a fried crouton topped with a bit of the reserved duck meat.

---

¹ I just made a bunch of smaller croutons out of some sale bread we had on hand: Cut into cubes, toss with a bit of oil, roast in oven until nicely crispy. ^Back
2 Add more or less water depending on how thick you like your soup. I like mine quite thick and stew-like, so I just used 8 c. of water. Use up to 10 c. for a soupier soup. ^Back