Chef Klaus
Ähzezupp (Kölsche Erbsensuppe)
The Cologne pea pot earns its depth from soaked peas and cured pork bone, simmered slowly until the soup thickens itself and the meat falls clean from the knuckle.
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Frankfurter Linsensuppe mit Würstchen
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Frankfurt's brown-lentil soup is won at the finish: vinegar only after the lentils are tender, Würstchen warmed off the boil, and a clean broth that tastes bright instead of heavy.
Soups & Stews
German
Weeknight
Budget Friendly
Make Ahead
20 min
Active Time
55 min cook•1 hr 15 min total
Yield4 to 6 servings
Frankfurter Linsensuppe sits in Hesse, in the weeknight pot and the Sunday pot when the weather has teeth: brown lentils, Suppengrün, soup greens, a little smoke from bacon or rind, and Frankfurter Würstchen warmed at the end. It belongs to the cold half of the year and to the larder, because dried lentils, roots, smoked pork, and vinegar keep when the garden has shut. Swabia turns lentils thick and lays them with Spätzle and Saitenwürstle; the north leans harder on smoke and roots. Im Norden anders, im Süden anders.
The deciding move is the finish. Lentils must soften before the vinegar goes in, because acid tightens the skins and leaves the middle chalky while the outside frays. Then the Würstchen go into the hot soup off the boil, whole, because a rolling pot splits the skins and leaks the smoke and fat into the broth. Würzen, Fett, Salz zum Schluss.
I start with the soup greens and whatever rind the bacon gives me. Weggeworfen wird nichts. The rind gives body, the roots give sweetness, and the vinegar lifts the pot so it tastes bright instead of tired. Nicht aus dem Glas: use a stock you trust, or use water with the smoked rind and let the ingredients do the work.
Watch the lentils, not the clock. They should hold their shape but give under the tooth, and the broth should be clear enough to see the carrot and leek, not thickened into paste. Das braucht seine Zeit, but not a whole afternoon.
Frankfurt's small smoked pork sausages are tied to the city's butcher tradition from the late Middle Ages; the useful dated turn is 1805, when Johann Georg Lahner, trained in Frankfurt, opened in Vienna and made the beef-and-pork Wiener Würstchen that later travelled under frankfurter names abroad. In Frankfurt, the Frankfurter Würstchen remained a thin, pork-only sausage in sheep casing, gently smoked, and the name was guarded in Germany by the nineteenth century for local production. Lentil soup belongs to the Hessian larder pattern of dried pulses, stored roots, smoke, and vinegar, while Swabia sends its lentils toward Spätzle and Saitenwürstle instead of a broth bowl.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
brown lentils, Tellerlinsen or Berglinsen
Quantity
250g
picked over and rinsed
smoked bacon or smoked pork belly
Quantity
75g
diced, rind reserved if attached
rapeseed oil or lard (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
onion
Quantity
1 large
finely diced
carrots
Quantity
2
diced small
celeriac
Quantity
150g
diced small
parsley root (optional)
Quantity
1
diced small
leek
Quantity
1 small
white and light green parts sliced and rinsed
waxy potatoes
Quantity
300g
peeled and diced
unsalted pork, beef, or vegetable stock, or water
Quantity
1.5L
bay leaf
Quantity
1
dried marjoram
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Frankfurter Würstchen
Quantity
4
fully cooked and smoked
apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
Quantity
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons
plus more to serve
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
to taste
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
2 tablespoons
chopped
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| brown lentils, Tellerlinsen or Berglinsenpicked over and rinsed | 250g |
| smoked bacon or smoked pork bellydiced, rind reserved if attached | 75g |
| rapeseed oil or lard (optional) | 1 tablespoon |
| onionfinely diced | 1 large |
| carrotsdiced small | 2 |
| celeriacdiced small | 150g |
| parsley root (optional)diced small | 1 |
| leekwhite and light green parts sliced and rinsed | 1 small |
| waxy potatoespeeled and diced | 300g |
| unsalted pork, beef, or vegetable stock, or water | 1.5L |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| dried marjoram | 1 teaspoon |
| Frankfurter Würstchenfully cooked and smoked | 4 |
| apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegarplus more to serve | 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons |
| salt and freshly ground black pepper | to taste |
| flat-leaf parsleychopped | 2 tablespoons |
Equipment Needed
- •4L heavy soup pot or Dutch oven
- •Sharp knife and cutting board
- •Ladle
- •Small tasting spoon for adjusting vinegar
Instructions
- 1
Sort the lentils
Pick over the lentils, then rinse them under cold water until the water runs clear. If your Tellerlinsen are old and dusty from the back of the cupboard, soak them overnight and drain them; age dries the skins, and soaking brings the cooking time back into line. Fresh Berglinsen need no soak.
Use brown lentils. Red or yellow lentils collapse into puree, and that is another soup, not this Frankfurt bowl. - 2
Render the bacon
Put the diced bacon in a cold heavy pot with the oil or lard if the bacon is lean, then set it over medium-low heat. Starting cold gives the fat time to render without scorching the smoke; burnt Speck makes bitter soup, not deeper soup. If the bacon gave you a rind, keep it whole for the simmer.
- 3
Sweat the greens
Add the onion, carrots, celeriac, and parsley root and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, stirring, until the onion looks glassy and the carrot edges shine. Do not brown them hard. This is a broth-based soup, and the roots should sweeten the pot without turning it dark before the lentils have cooked.
- 4
Simmer the lentils
Stir in the lentils, bay leaf, marjoram, stock or water, and the reserved bacon rind if you have it. Bring it just to a lively simmer, then lower the heat so the surface trembles. A hard boil knocks the skins loose and clouds the broth before the centers are tender. Cook for about 25 minutes, or 15 minutes if the lentils were soaked.
- 5
Add potatoes and leek
Add the diced potatoes and sliced leek once the lentils have begun to yield but still have a firm center. Potatoes need less time than lentils; put them in at the start and they disappear, put them in too late and they taste raw beside the lentils. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes more, until the lentils are tender and the potato cubes still hold their edges.
- 6
Sharpen at the end
Remove the bay leaf and bacon rind. Stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar, then season with black pepper and salt. The vinegar goes in now, not earlier, because acid tightens lentil skins and leaves the middle chalky; at the finish it sharpens the earthiness without stopping the cooking. Taste, then add more vinegar spoon by spoon until the broth wakes up but does not taste pickled.
- 7
Warm the Würstchen
Take the pot off the heat. Lay the Frankfurter Würstchen whole in the hot soup, cover the pot, and let them warm for 8 to 10 minutes. The soup is hot enough for a smoked, scalded Frankfurter; boiling splits the skins and sends the fat into the broth. Slice them into thick coins in the bowls, or serve one whole sausage per bowl.
If you bought raw sausage by mistake, cook it separately to 71C at the center and add it sliced. Do not ask lentil soup to cook raw sausage cleanly. - 8
Serve and taste
Ladle the soup into warm bowls, add the Würstchen, and scatter over the parsley. Taste the salt after the sausage has warmed, because it gives salt back to the broth. Put vinegar on the table with dark rye or a slice of Bauernbrot. Schön ist, was schmeckt.
Chef Tips
- •Tellerlinsen give the old brown-lentil pot; Berglinsen cook neater and faster. Red lentils are for another soup, because they collapse and thicken the broth before the roots have any say.
- •Vinegar belongs at the end. Acid on half-cooked lentils makes the skins stubborn; acid on tender lentils makes the whole bowl brighter. Erst verstehen, dann kochen.
- •Frankfurter Würstchen are warmed, not boiled. A split sausage is not a tragedy, only proof that the pot was shouting.
- •If you have bacon rind, parsley stems, or the clean green top of the leek, simmer them in the pot and fish them out before serving. Weggeworfen wird nichts, and the flavour is now where it belongs.
- •Drink dry Hessian Apfelwein from a Geripptes glass if you want the right Frankfurt companion. Its sour apple sits with the vinegar and lentils. Das ist kein Bierzelt.
Advance Preparation
- •Chop the soup greens up to 1 day ahead and keep them covered in the refrigerator. Keep diced potatoes in cold water so they do not brown, then drain before adding.
- •The soup base keeps well for 3 days without the Würstchen. Cool it in shallow containers within 2 hours, refrigerate, then reheat gently and warm the sausages off the boil.
- •If making it a full day ahead, refresh it with a small splash of vinegar at serving. Lentils drink up sharpness overnight, and a flat lentil soup needs correction, not apology.
- •For freezing, make the base without potatoes and Würstchen. Add fresh potatoes during reheating and warm the sausages at the end, because frozen potatoes turn grainy and sausages lose their snap.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 540g)
Calories
470 calories
Total Fat
17 g
Saturated Fat
6 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
11 g
Cholesterol
35 mg
Sodium
1200 mg
Total Carbohydrates
56 g
Dietary Fiber
10 g
Sugars
6 g
Protein
23 g
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