Lentils with chorizo

From Ana and José in Spain
LENTEJAS CON VERDURA Y CHORIZO
Lentils with greens and chorizo

Ingredients (for a party of 4):
300 gr lentils (dry)
200 gr Spanish chorizo (can be changed to bacon in the US, or any kind of ham. Don't add it if you are vegetarian, the recipe will be still good and tasty).
1 onion
3 carrots
1 or 2 green pepper
1 tomato
If you don't have those vegetables you can change them for those you have by hand (leaks, potatoes, zucchini, etc).
oil
salt
water
2-3 leaves of laurel(bay) (if you have at home, not essential)
a pinch of black pepper

Put the dry lentils in water the night before cooking, they will be softer and they will need less time boiling. The next day, clean and wash all the vegetables carefully, then cut them in small pieces (less than 1 cm). Fry them in a large pan with little oil until they are cooked. Then, add the chorizo also in thin slices (about 3-4 mm) for about 5 minutes until is fried. Add the lentils to the pan and mix with the vegetables and the chorizo. Then add about 1 liter of hot water and put to boil. Add salt, 2-3 leaves of laurel and a pinch of black pepper if you want. Let it boil for about half an hour and try it to be sure that the lentils are tender (it can take more time, depending on the type of lentils). During the boiling time, add more water if necessary. The final result is not a soup, but lentils with a little bit of sauce!!

I like to make a version of this with chard.