Instructions

• Start with your pressure cooker on medium heat. Toss in diced bacon and cook it till it’s crispy and rendering fat, about 5 to 7 minutes. You want those crispy bits but also enough fat to flavor the veg.
• Once bacon’s done, scoop it out and set aside on a paper towel. Don’t drain the fat—it’s what's gonna carry all your good flavors next.
• Next, add diced onions, carrots, and celery to the pot. Sauté them in the bacon fat until they soften up, around 5 minutes. You gotta keep stirring so nothing sticks and burns in there.
• Now stir in garlic, cumin, and oregano. Let it cook for a minute or so till you get those spices waking up. That’s when the smell hits your nose hard, and you know soup’s coming along good.
• Time to pour in rinsed lentils, brothy chicken stock, and don’t forget your bay leaf. Toss that crispy bacon right back in too. Give everything a good stir to combine so lentils get surrounded by all those tasty bits.
• Seal the lid tight and set the pressure cooker to high. Wait for the pressure build and then let it cook for 25 to 30 minutes. You’ll start to hear the valve hiss and see steam cues coming off—the sign that soup’s cooking just right.
• When the timer’s up, carefully release pressure according to your cooker’s instructions. Open the lid and pull out the bay leaf. Give the soup a taste—you should feel a tender pull on the lentils with smoky broth depth.

  Squeeze in half a lemon’s juice and stir it through. It wakens the whole pot and keeps the flavor lively. If you like, sprinkle chopped fresh parsley on top before ladling into bowls.