large ham bone or small ham / ham butt
1 large onion, cut in half
bay leaf
water (enough to cover)
2 (28 oz. ea.) cans tomato puree (Hunts)
1 1/2 (14-16 oz. ea.) bags lentils (washed)
1 to 1 1/2 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into small pieces

Place ham bone into deep saucepan with two hunks of onions (peeled and cut), the bay leaf and enough cold water to cover the bone. Bring to a boil; turn on lowest heat and let simmer for 5 hours. Cover and let sit in the refrigerator overnight (outside if it is winter and very cold!)

In the morning, scrape fat off the top of the broth. Pour contents through a strainer into another deep soup pot. Pick the meat off the bone and scrape out the marrow to add to soup. Discard the bone, onion and bay leaf.

Add 2 large cans of tomato puree. Add lentils. Peel and cut up 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of carrots; add to soup. Cook for two hours on low (you may add tomato sauce to thin -- but this is best eaten as a thickened "stew" like soup).

Note: If you prefer thicker soup (and most do), pour some into a blender 5 or 6 times to puree the soup. We serve with warm rolls or sourdough bread and butter -- it's a complete meal. Reheats beautifully in a microwave.

Serves 8 or more!

Submitted by: Judy and Jackie