Lentil Soup with Brown beer

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This soup has a story. I’m not a fan of soups, but sometimes I do eat them. Usually as a main course, I don’t even eat a second one afterwards. One day, I was at my mother’s house, when she had to leave. She had some lentils soaking for a soup, and left me to actually make it. I’ve never cooked it before, so I sort of guessed how it should be made based on my understanding of making soups. I love putting alcohol into everything, and as I was wondering about how to add flavour to the soup, I spotted a bottle of brown beer in the fridge. I went ahead and added some.
My mother came home and was amazed at how delicious the soup turned out. I told her that of course, with beer, everything was tastier. Since then, brown beer has been an inevitable ingredient in our lentil soup. You don’t have to pour some very expensive beer into it, a decent one that has depth will do. I often use Staropramen, because that’s sold everywhere here.
  • olive oil
  • 200 g lentils
  • 75 g bacon
  • 100 g dry sausage with paprika
  • 1 small onion
  • 6 carrots
  • 1 parsley root
  • 2 tsp. parsley
  • 2 tsp. sweet paprika spice (my region in Hungary specialises in this)
  • 1 pinch ground cumin seeds
  • 1/2 tsp. chili peppers (unless the sausage is spicy)
  • salt, pepper
  • 1 vegetable soup cube or 2 tsp. ground vegetable mix or vegetable stock
  • 1 dl brown beer
  • lactose-free sour cream


Soak the lentils for at least 12 hours, preferably overnight.

First, prepare all the ingredients. You chop the onion, dice the bacon, cut the sausage. Scrape off the outside of the carrots and parsley root. Chop the carrots. I tend to leave the parsley root in large chunks because I don’t like this vegetable, but it gives the soup a nice taste. My mum actually eats it.

Heat oil in a large saucepan and fry the onions, bacon and sausage on it. Strain the lentils and pour them into the pot. Stir the whole thing a little, then pour in water. Pour in enough to cover the lentils, and then about 2 inches. If you have proper vegetable stock, use that. When the water boils, stir in the cubes or mix and the spices except the parsley. You have to pay attention to the lentils. If you feel they have started to soften, put in the carrots, parsley root and the parsley. Cook until the lentils are soft enough, but do not overcook them. Add the beer before it is completely done. Let it all simmer together for a few minutes.

Put a spoonful of sour cream on the plate before serving. This intensifies the flavour.

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