Slow Cooker Ham Hock Lentil Soup

Welcome to 2018 guys! I’m excited for this year – it’s going to be a full one I can feel it – just as filling as this awesome Slow Cooker Ham Hock Lentil Soup 😀

This year I am going to be focusing on more meal prep recipes. Most of my recipes are already in this style – they can be prepared ahead of time, made in bulk and are suitable for freezing and reheating. 2017 saw me hit some awesome gym / exercise goals and it just reinforced the importance of being nutritionally prepared to not only save time but to fuel my body properly for performance and recovery. So 2018 will see a continuation of this – I want to make further improvements in my fitness and health, support my thyroid (I have hypothyroidism) and other hormones and keep myself and my loved ones happy and healthy with delicious, nutritious food.

If you’re just as enthusiastic about meal prep as what I am (or want to learn), make sure to head on over to my Facebook group Preparation is Key to join up with like-minded people and share photos, recipes and ideas. What are your 2018 goals? Let me know in the comments!

Now onto the recipe! This recipe arose from the fact that I had a leftover ham hock after Christmas and I am a big believer in reducing food wastage (it’s probably something to do with my Italian/Scottish roots haha). So what better way to use up leftovers than in a soup! Soups are wonderful vessels for leftover meats, less than fresh veggies and they keep great in the freezer.

Lentils are also a great source of vegetarian protein. They’re high in soluble fibre which is great for stabilising blood sugar levels, and are packed with other beneficial minerals such as folate, iron, manganese, thiamine and potassium. Not to mention they are FILLING and CHEAP. I don’t follow a strict paleo diet (my no.1 focus is on whole foods, followed by gluten avoidance) so including occasional legumes is ok for me. If you want more info on where legumes fit in a paleo / primal diet and how they should be prepared check out this article from Mark’s Daily Apple “Where do legumes belong in the Primal eating plan?”.

This recipe is best started at night, allowing your lentils to soak overnight, with the rest of the recipe prepared in the morning so it can cook during the day and is all ready for dinner. Start by placing your lentils into a colander and rinsing them with running water. Then transfer them to a pot. Cover with water, place the lid on your pot and let them soak overnight.

The next day, finely dice your onion, celery and carrots. Crush the garlic cloves. Turn your slow cooker to sear for 10 minutes and add in the olive oil or ghee. Note: if you don’t have a sear function on your slow cooker you can use a pot or frypan on the stove top.

When the oil is hot, add in your onion, celery, carrots, garlic, cumin, turmeric and paprika. Sauté until translucent and the spices are fragrant.

Drain the water from your lentils and add into the slow cooker. Add in the rest of the ingredients (tomato paste, salt, stock, water and ham hock) and cook on low for 8 hours.

Once done, fish out the ham hock with tongs. Pull off and shred any meat from the hock and add this back into the soup. Discard the bones and any large chunks of fat.

Serve with a sprinkling of freshly chopped parsley.

Print Pin

Slow Cooker Ham Hock Lentil Soup

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 8 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 8 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Calories 454kcal

Author The Consumption

Ingredients

• 1½ cups dried lentils
• 2 carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• 1 onion
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or ghee
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds or ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 ham hock
• 1 litre chicken stock / bone broth
• 1 litre water

Instructions

• Place the lentils into a colander and rinse with cold running water, then transfer them to a pot. Cover with water, place the lid on your pot and let them soak overnight.
• Finely dice the onion, celery and carrots. Crush the garlic cloves
• Turn your slow cooker to sear for 10 minutes and add in the olive oil. Note: if you don’t have a sear function on your slow cooker you can use a pot or frypan on the stove top
• When the oil is hot, add in your onion, celery, carrots, garlic, cumin, turmeric and paprika. Sauté until translucent and the spices are fragrant
• Drain the water from your lentils and add into the slow cooker
• Add in the rest of the ingredients (tomato paste, salt, stock, water and ham hock) and cook on low for 8 hours
• Once done, fish out the ham hock with tongs. Pull off and shred any meat from the hock and add this back into the soup. Discard the bones and any large chunks of fat
• Serve with a sprinkling of fresh chopped parsley

Notes

Place leftovers into containers and freeze.

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