Lentil soup with Tabasco chili sauce

A delicious, hearty lentil soup just like Grandma used to make – with a dash of spice. As a spice lover, you know that many hot sauce enthusiasts criticize the original Tabasco chili sauce for tasting too vinegary. We agree with the critics. But the trick is to use the hot sauce to its full potential – and what could be better than a wonderful lentil soup, which is already seasoned with vinegar anyway? Spice it up! Here's your tasty recipe with Tabasco.

Ingredients

You probably know this: a good lentil soup depends on the base. Here's everything you need at a glance – for a big pot that tastes even better the next day.

• 500g lentils
• 500 g potatoes
• 300 g carrots
• 300 g onions
• 250 g leeks
• 150 g celery
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 500g Thick Rib
• 100g Smoked Bacon
• 2 Mettwurst sausages
• 2 Vienna sausages
• 1 Coarse Bratwurst
• 500 ml broth (chicken or beef stock)
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 1 lemon
• Original Tabasco Chili Sauce

preparation

We at Pikantista – chili lovers and connoisseurs through and through, just like you – do it this way: first the meat, then the vegetables, then the grand finale. This creates a deep, full-bodied soup in which the Tabasco chili sauce can truly unfold its flavor.

Step 1 – Prepare the meat

Place the spare rib in a large pot of cold water and slowly bring to a boil. Carefully skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Simmer the meat over medium heat for about 45–60 minutes, until tender. Then remove it from the stock, let it cool slightly, and shred or cut it into bite-sized pieces.

Step 2 – Vegetables and lentils

Peel the potatoes, carrots, and celery and cut them into small cubes. Finely chop the onions and slice the leeks into rings. Fry the smoked bacon in a large pot over medium heat until lightly crispy. Add the onions and sauté until translucent. Now add the remaining vegetables and sauté briefly.

Step 3 – Putting everything together

Soak the lentils in cold water for a few hours beforehand – this saves cooking time and makes them easier to digest. Add the soaked and drained lentils to the sautéed vegetables. Pour in the meat stock and 500 ml of broth. Simmer everything together over medium heat for about 30–40 minutes, until the lentils are soft.

Step 4 – Sausage and seasoning

Slice the Mettwurst, Vienna sausages, and coarse bratwurst and add them to the pot along with the soup meat. Let it simmer for another 10 minutes. Now season with salt, pepper, and a generous squeeze of lemon juice. Finely chop the fresh parsley and stir it in.

The Tabasco trick

And now comes the crucial moment – ​​the one you, as a spice enthusiast, are here for. The Tabasco hot sauce comes right at the end. Not during cooking, but when tasting and at the table. The soup already has a subtle acidity from the lemon juice – and this is precisely the base that makes the Tabasco chili sauce the perfect complement. The vinegar flavor of the Tabasco blends harmoniously, rather than overpowering. Add a few dashes to each bowl, according to taste. This way, the heat unfolds directly on your tongue – and not somewhere in the pot.

Pikantista! That's exactly the difference between "Tabasco is a no-go" and "Tabasco is perfect here".

Tips from Pikantista

After years with projects like Pika Pika and Chili Mafia, as well as shops like chili-saucen.com and chili-plants.com, we are true chili aficionados – and here are our most honest tips for this recipe:

• Even better the next day: Lentil soup tastes deeper and more rounded when reheated. Cook a large pot and enjoy it over two days.
• Vegetarian version: Omit the meat and bacon, replace the stock with vegetable broth. Smoked paprika then provides the smoky aroma.
• Want more spice ? Combine the Tabasco chili sauce with a habanero hot sauce – but only do this at the table.
• Tabasco varieties: The classic red Tabasco is ideal, but the chipotle variety gives the soup an additional smoky note that goes wonderfully with the sausages.
• Consistency: Do you want the soup to be creamier? Puree some of the lentils and vegetables with a hand blender, then stir everything back together.