Chef Klaus
Bibbelsches Bohnesupp
The Saarland bean soup that waits until the beans are tender before the vinegar goes in, with bacon fat and potato doing the work properly.
Culinary Explorer
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Pfälzer Linseneintopf mit Wienerle
Created by
The Palatinate lentil pot is winter food from the larder: lentils, roots, smoked bacon, and Wienerle, with vinegar stirred in at the end so the whole pot stands up.
Side Dishes
German
Comfort Food
New Years
One Pot
25 min
Active Time
1 hr 15 min cook•1 hr 40 min total
Yield6 servings
Pfälzer Linseneintopf belongs to the Palatinate winter table, where the cellar gives you roots, the smokehouse gives you bacon, and the cupboard gives you lentils that don't complain about the weather. It is weeknight food if you start early enough, Sunday food if you set a bigger pot down. At New Year, lentils also carry the old coin wish, little round things for money in the coming year. I don't argue with a pot that feeds people and promises them luck.
The regions split fast. In Swabia, lentils march out with Spätzle and Saitenwürstle, and the vinegar is sharp enough to speak. In the Palatinate, I keep it as an Eintopf, a one-pot stew, with potatoes and soup greens in the pot and Wienerle warmed through at the end. Im Norden anders, im Süden anders. This is not one national lentil dish with a flag stuck in it.
The technique is simple: salt and vinegar wait until the lentils are tender. Acid tightens the skins, and early salt slows them down, so the lentils stay stubborn while the vegetables collapse around them. Cook the lentils in clean broth first, then season hard at the end. Würzen, Fett, Salz zum Schluss. The vinegar doesn't make the pot sour; it wakes the smoke, the roots, and the lentils.
Use the bacon rind if you have it. Weggeworfen wird nichts. It gives body to the broth, then comes out before the Wienerle go in. Don't boil the sausages until they split and dump their fat. Warm them gently, slice them thick, and put the mustard on the table. Schön ist, was schmeckt.
Lentils have been grown in German-speaking regions since the Middle Ages because they stored well, fed people through winter, and fitted the fasting calendar when meat was restricted. The Palatinate version reflects a southwestern larder of smoked pork, cellar roots, potatoes, and vinegar, while Swabian cooks to the southeast turned the same lentil base into Linsen mit Spätzle und Saitenwürstle. The New Year custom of eating lentils for prosperity is shared across central Europe, where their coin-like shape made them a small edible wish for money.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
brown or green lentils
Quantity
300g
rinsed and picked over
smoked bacon
Quantity
150g
diced, rind reserved if attached
lard or neutral oil
Quantity
1 tablespoon
onions
Quantity
2
finely diced
carrots
Quantity
2
diced
leek
Quantity
1
well washed and sliced
celeriac or celery stalks
Quantity
150g celeriac or 2 stalks
diced
waxy potatoes
Quantity
500g
peeled and diced
unsalted beef, pork, or vegetable broth
Quantity
1.5 litres
bay leaves
Quantity
2
black peppercorns
Quantity
6
lightly crushed
dried marjoram
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Wienerle or Frankfurter-style sausages
Quantity
6
cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
Quantity
2 to 3 tablespoons
sugar (optional)
Quantity
1 teaspoon
salt and black pepper
Quantity
to taste
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
2 tablespoons
chopped
German mustard (optional)
Quantity
to serve
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| brown or green lentilsrinsed and picked over | 300g |
| smoked bacondiced, rind reserved if attached | 150g |
| lard or neutral oil | 1 tablespoon |
| onionsfinely diced | 2 |
| carrotsdiced | 2 |
| leekwell washed and sliced | 1 |
| celeriac or celery stalksdiced | 150g celeriac or 2 stalks |
| waxy potatoespeeled and diced | 500g |
| unsalted beef, pork, or vegetable broth | 1.5 litres |
| bay leaves | 2 |
| black peppercornslightly crushed | 6 |
| dried marjoram | 1 teaspoon |
| Wienerle or Frankfurter-style sausages | 6 |
| cider vinegar or white wine vinegar | 2 to 3 tablespoons |
| sugar (optional) | 1 teaspoon |
| salt and black pepper | to taste |
| flat-leaf parsleychopped | 2 tablespoons |
| German mustard (optional) | to serve |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy 4 to 5 litre soup pot or Dutch oven
- •Sharp knife
- •Ladle
Instructions
- 1
Start the bacon
Warm the lard in a heavy pot and cook the diced smoked bacon over medium heat until the fat runs clear and the edges take colour. If the bacon has rind, add it whole now; it gives body to the broth, and Weggeworfen wird nichts. Don't scorch the bacon, because burnt smoke turns the whole pot bitter.
Use smoked bacon with a bit of fat, not lean cubes sealed in plastic with no smell. The fat carries the smoke through the lentils. - 2
Sweat the roots
Add the onions, carrots, leek, and celeriac and cook them in the bacon fat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the onion turns glassy and the leek softens. This is not browning for a roast; you are drawing sweetness out of cheap winter vegetables so the broth tastes cooked before the lentils go in.
- 3
Simmer the lentils
Stir in the rinsed lentils, broth, bay leaves, peppercorns, and marjoram, then bring the pot just to a boil. Lower it at once to a quiet simmer and cook uncovered for 35 to 45 minutes, until the lentils are nearly tender but still hold their shape. Runter mit der Temperatur: a hard boil breaks the skins and gives you mud before the centre is done.
- 4
Add the potatoes
Add the diced potatoes and simmer another 15 to 20 minutes, until they are tender and a few edges begin to soften into the broth. The potatoes go in after the lentils because they cook faster; add them at the start and they disappear before the lentils have finished their work.
- 5
Season at the end
Remove the bacon rind and bay leaves. Now add salt, black pepper, 2 tablespoons vinegar, and the sugar if the pot tastes too sharp. The vinegar waits until the lentils are tender because acid tightens the skins; put it in early and you'll stand there wondering why dinner is still hard. Taste again. The stew should be smoky, earthy, and awake, not sour.
- 6
Warm the Wienerle
Slice the Wienerle thickly and slide them into the pot for 5 minutes over low heat, just until heated through. Do not boil them hard, because the skins split and the sausage gives up its fat into the broth. Finish with parsley and put mustard on the table. Nicht aus dem Glas, unless the glass is mustard.
Chef Tips
- •Use brown or green lentils that keep their shape. Red lentils are for another pot; they collapse quickly and turn this into puree before the roots have done their work.
- •Don't salt or vinegar the pot early. The lentil skin is the lesson here: acid tightens it, salt slows it, and patience fixes both if you wait.
- •If the stew thickens too much, loosen it with broth or water, not cream. This is a clean lentil pot with smoke and vinegar, and dairy dulls the edge.
- •Serve with rye bread and mustard. The bread catches the broth, and the mustard belongs with the Wienerle without pretending to be a sauce.
Advance Preparation
- •The stew can be cooked through the lentils and potatoes one day ahead, then cooled and refrigerated. Add the vinegar, parsley, and Wienerle when reheating so the lentils stay clean and the sausages don't split.
- •Leftovers keep 3 days in the refrigerator. Reheat gently with a splash of broth or water because lentils keep drinking after the pot is cold.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 520g)
Calories
575 calories
Total Fat
26 g
Saturated Fat
9 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
16 g
Cholesterol
45 mg
Sodium
1500 mg
Total Carbohydrates
60 g
Dietary Fiber
12 g
Sugars
7 g
Protein
26 g
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