Lentil Soup with Wienerli — the Swiss Winter Soup in 40 Minutes
Fry bacon, onion and root vegetables, add brown lentils and stock, simmer 30 minutes, Wienerli for the last 5, 1 tbsp vinegar at the end. The vinegar is the step everyone skips — it makes the soup fresh rather than heavy. No soaking needed.
Lentil soup is the soup served at every Swiss lunch table in winter, with Wienerli sausages in it and vinegar over it. It comes from the store cupboard, needs no soaking and is a whole meal in 40 minutes. The vinegar at the end is no detail but the difference between a heavy and a good lentil soup.
Ingredients
- 250 g Lentils (brown or green)
- 100 g Diced bacon
- 4 pieces Wienerli sausages
- 1 piece Onion
- 2 pieces Carrots
- 1 piece Leek
- 100 g Celeriac
- 1 piece Potato
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1 tbsp Tomato purée
- 1.2 l Stock
- 2 pieces Bay leaves
- 1 tsp Marjoram (dried)
- 1 tbsp White wine vinegar
- Salt
- Pepper
- ½ bunch Parsley
Method
- 1
Prepare the vegetables
Dice the onion, carrots, celeriac and potato small, slice the leek into rings. Rinse the lentils.
- 2
Fry
Melt the butter in a large pot, fry the bacon 3 minutes, add the onion and vegetables and sweat 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato purée, toast 1 minute.
- 3
Simmer
Add the lentils, stock, bay and marjoram, bring to the boil and simmer covered for 30 minutes until the lentils are tender. Do not salt yet — lentils stay hard in salted water.
- 4
Wienerli
Slice the Wienerli and warm in the soup for the last 5 minutes. Do not boil — they burst.
- 5
Season
Remove the bay leaves. Stir in the vinegar, season with salt and pepper, scatter with parsley. Bread alongside.
Tips
- The soup thickens a lot as it stands. On day two thin with stock or water — it is then better than on day one. Keeps four days, freezes three months.
- For a thicker soup: blend a ladle at the end and stir it back in. Fully blended with a splash of cream it becomes a cream of lentil soup.
- In Switzerland the vinegar often goes on at the table — a bottle next to the pot, everyone to their taste. That way children can have it without.
What can I substitute?
All sliced for the last 5 minutes. A smoked sausage cooked whole in the soup gives the whole pot a smoky flavour.
With vegetable stock and no sausage, the vegetarian lentil soup. The smoked paprika replaces the bacon surprisingly well.
Collapse into a creamy soup in 15 minutes — cook for less time. Brown and green lentils keep their shape.
Nutrition per serving
Estimated from the ingredients.
Frequently asked questions
Do lentils for soup need soaking?
No. Lentils are the only pulses that soften in 30 minutes without soaking. Just rinse. Salt and vinegar only at the end — acid and salt in the cooking water harden the skins.
Why does vinegar go into lentil soup?
Lentils and bacon are earthy and heavy; the acid lifts the flavour and makes the soup fresher. It is tradition in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. One tablespoon is enough — it should not taste sour, just livelier.
Why do my lentils stay hard?
Old lentils, or salt and acid too early. Lentils that have sat in the cupboard for over a year need noticeably longer. And stock cubes contain a lot of salt — then simmer 10 minutes longer. Tomato purée is fine; vinegar and tinned tomatoes only at the end.
How much does lentil soup cost per person?
About 2 CHF per person with Wienerli and bacon, under 1.50 CHF vegetarian. As a main with bread, one of the cheapest and most filling meals.
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