Lentils and Sausage
September 22, 2009 03:21 PM Filed in: Recipes
As promised on Facebook, last Friday night's dinner:
Lentil and Italian Sausage Soup
From the Nyack Farmers' Market:
From the grocery and pantry:
From the garden:
Take a large pot, larger than you think you'll need, and heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in it.
Remove casing from sausage, if desired, chunk it up into small pieces, maybe the size of half-inch meatballs, and saute in the oil over medium heat until it doesn't look raw anymore. Then toss in the onions, stir and cook until onions are soft but not brown. Mince the garlic and add to the onions. Cook for a minute or so.
Rinse off the lentils and toss into the pot. Add a bottle of lager, a couple of bottles of water, and the canned tomatoes, enough liquid to cover plus about an inch.
Tie the herbs with a bit of string or into cheesecloth and toss into the pot. Alternately, strip the leaves off the stems, mince all but the bay leaf and toss into the pot.
Bring pot up to a boil for a minute or so, then cover and reduce heat to simmer.
While it’s simmering, chop the carrots and celery into small slices. Mince the celery leaves. Dice the bell pepper. Toss each into the pot as they are chopped. If there are any garden tomatoes left, dice a couple and toss them in, too. Return to a simmer after each addition.
The kale you’ll need to clean in several changes of water, especially if it’s from the Farmers’ Market. Otherwise, you’ll be adding a lot of sand, dirt and grit to the pot. Once it’s clean, strip the leaves from the toughest part of the stem. Roll into cigar shapes, slice and slice again crosswise. Add them to the pot, too.
If it looks like it needs more liquid, add a little more water, broth, or beer, or another can of tomatoes. It should be soupy. Add salt and pepper to taste.
At this point, the lentils have been simmering for maybe 45 minutes to an hour. Cover and simmer another 45 minutes or so until both the lentils and kale are tender.
Fish out the bay leaf and the twiggy herbs, ladle into big bowls and serve.
We had some leftover rice, so I added a bit to the bowls. You could also add pasta, something like a small shell shape, in the last 20-30 minutes of cooking. Add the pasta (not too much) bring soup up to a boil, then return to a simmer.
Next time, I might use less water and more tomatoes, or even tomato juice. As usual, it will depend on what I have in the pantry.
Lentil and Italian Sausage Soup
From the Nyack Farmers' Market:
- 1 lb sweet Italian sausage (hot would also be good)
- 1 or 2 onions, diced
- 1 clove organic garlic
- 4-5 ribs of organic celery, with leaves
- 1 small bunch of organic carrots, or 3-4 large carrots
- 1 bunch organic purple kale
From the grocery and pantry:
- 1 lb organic dried lentils
- 1 bottle lager
- 1 can (or two) organic diced tomatoes
- bay leaf
- salt
- pepper
From the garden:
- several sprigs of thyme
- a few basil leaves
- sprig of oregano
- sprig of rosemary
- 1 bell pepper
- tomatoes
Take a large pot, larger than you think you'll need, and heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in it.
Remove casing from sausage, if desired, chunk it up into small pieces, maybe the size of half-inch meatballs, and saute in the oil over medium heat until it doesn't look raw anymore. Then toss in the onions, stir and cook until onions are soft but not brown. Mince the garlic and add to the onions. Cook for a minute or so.
Rinse off the lentils and toss into the pot. Add a bottle of lager, a couple of bottles of water, and the canned tomatoes, enough liquid to cover plus about an inch.
Tie the herbs with a bit of string or into cheesecloth and toss into the pot. Alternately, strip the leaves off the stems, mince all but the bay leaf and toss into the pot.
Bring pot up to a boil for a minute or so, then cover and reduce heat to simmer.
While it’s simmering, chop the carrots and celery into small slices. Mince the celery leaves. Dice the bell pepper. Toss each into the pot as they are chopped. If there are any garden tomatoes left, dice a couple and toss them in, too. Return to a simmer after each addition.
The kale you’ll need to clean in several changes of water, especially if it’s from the Farmers’ Market. Otherwise, you’ll be adding a lot of sand, dirt and grit to the pot. Once it’s clean, strip the leaves from the toughest part of the stem. Roll into cigar shapes, slice and slice again crosswise. Add them to the pot, too.
If it looks like it needs more liquid, add a little more water, broth, or beer, or another can of tomatoes. It should be soupy. Add salt and pepper to taste.
At this point, the lentils have been simmering for maybe 45 minutes to an hour. Cover and simmer another 45 minutes or so until both the lentils and kale are tender.
Fish out the bay leaf and the twiggy herbs, ladle into big bowls and serve.
We had some leftover rice, so I added a bit to the bowls. You could also add pasta, something like a small shell shape, in the last 20-30 minutes of cooking. Add the pasta (not too much) bring soup up to a boil, then return to a simmer.
Next time, I might use less water and more tomatoes, or even tomato juice. As usual, it will depend on what I have in the pantry.
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