Friday, August 28, 2009

Sausage & Lentil Soup

There's been a chill in the air this week and it's been kind of rainy. Odd weather for Georgia in August. Combine that with trying to use up a few pantry items, and you get the perfect equation for Sausage & Lentil Soup. I love the rustic flavor combination of sausage and lentils -- served with some country bread or garlic naan from Trader Joe's and you've got yourself a nice cozy lunch or dinner.

Sausage & Lentil Soup
1 lb italian sausage, casing removed
3 stalks celery, diced
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
thyme
parsley
8 oz. green lentils
2 T. olive oil
48 oz chicken broth
1/4 c. tomato paste
In a large stock pot or dutch oven, heat oil and crumble and brown the sausage until cooked through. Remove to a plate, leaving the rendered fat in the pan. Saute carrot, onion and celery until translucent, about 7 minutes. Add garlic. Meanwhile, pour boiling water over lentils and let sit for 15 minutes. Drain. Add lentils, herbs, tomato paste and sausage to vegetables, and cover with chicken broth. Simmer 1 hour on medium low heat. Serve with warm bread.

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Anonymous said...

One trick on this kind of soup, that I've learned from looking at Indian dal recipes, is to sautee the spices and aromatics last and add them to the soup just before serving. I did this with a urid dal soup recently, sauteeing spinach, garlic, jalapenos and shallots before adding them back to the soup. Worked well, in my case.

FnS.

Leslie said...

Interesting tip! Thanks.