Lentil and Sausage Soup for a Cold Winter’s Night

Amarante

Sun, Jan 22 2023, 12:10 pm

Last week was about as cold as it gets here in Los Angeles so a hearty soup seemed like the perfect thing to simmer. Leftovers made a quick and delicious lunch and this would freeze well to cook ahead

As the tips indicate just add -spinach to the individual bowls so it doesn't get slimy.

Lentil and Sausage Soup for a Cold Winter’s Night

Excerpt From: Amanda Hesser - The Food52 Cookbook

3 tablespoons olive oil
    2 bay leaves
    3 to 4 sausages made with herbs and/or garlic
    1½ cups French green lentils
    4 cups chicken or beef stock (preferably homemade)
    1 large yellow or white onion, cut into ½-inch dice
    4 garlic cloves, chopped
    ½ cup sturdy red wine
    3 celery stalks, diced small, and their leaves if possible, chopped
    1 tablespoon dried marjoram or 2 tablespoons minced fresh marjoram
    4 to 5 carrots, depending on their size, cut into bite-size chunks
    Salt and freshly ground black pepper
    3 tablespoons organic ketchup
    2 cups chopped spinach (frozen is fine, if you don’t have fresh; just use 1 ½ cups instead)
    ¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
    Red wine vinegar

Fill a teakettle with water and put it on the stove to boil.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat or oil with one of the bay leaves and gently sauté the sausages, if they are not already cooked. Cut the cooked sausages into ¾-inch slices and brown them in the bacon fat or oil. Remove the sausage slices with a slotted spoon and set them aside. Reserve the pan; do not wash it!

Rinse the lentils in cold water two or three times, pick out any stones or other debris, and put the lentils on the stove in a saucepan with at least 3 cups of hot water from the kettle. If it hasn’t boiled at this point, don’t worry about it. Stir the lentils and cook them over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until almost tender, about 20 minutes. If they start to look dry, add more hot water as they cook.

Heat the stock in the micro wave or a medium saucepan over low heat.

Add the remaining censored 😂😂🤫🤫 oil, the onion, and garlic to the pan in which the sausages were browned and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the onions start to look translucent, push them aside with a spoon and add the wine. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes to deglaze the pan.

Stir in the lentils, their cooking water, and the hot stock. Add the celery, marjoram, carrots, sausages, second bay leaf and salt and pepper to taste, and stir well.

Simmer the soup until the carrots are tender, at least 10 minutes, adding more water as needed and stirring occasionally to prevent the lentils from sticking.

Add the ketchup and stir well. Add the spinach and parsley. Taste and correct the seasonings. Heat until the soup is very hot before serving.

Pass the red wine vinegar separately for people to add to taste. Enjoy!

TIPS AND TECHNIQUES

    Serve this with a hearty whole grain bread and follow it with fruit and censored 😂😂😂 for a lovely, easy dinner at home.

        AntoniaJames said: This soup holds really well and, in fact, improves a bit if eaten the next day, but—and this is important—don’t chop and add the spinach until right before eating. The greens will cook up nicely in just the time it takes to heat the soup through.

Last edited by Amarante on Sun, Jan 22 2023, 12:47 pm; edited 2 times in total