There is nothing better than a warm bowl of soup on a cold night and it is even better when it is shared with family and friends. Tonight I decided to make Sausage and Lentil Soup. For some reason I was always under the impression that lentils take forever to cook. I have childhood memories of my Mom cooking lentil soup all day and sometimes even after countless hours the lentils were still a little bit on the crunchy side. I am not sure if that is just a child's perspective of time or if there are just faster ways to cook lentils than the method my Mom selected. Any which way the lentils in this soup only cooked for 22 minutes and they were perfect.



Let me start by saying I love this soup, great flavor from the beef broth, the fresh sausage, the vegetable medley and the fresh herbs. Heaven! Let me also just say that I truly think I used every pot, pan, bowl and utensil in my entire kitchen making this soup. I loved that the vegetables are chopped in the food processor and I loved that I got to make my own sausage, but truly my kitchen looks like a tornado hit it.





First of all make the sausage. Combined the ground pork, red wine vinegar, parsley, garlic, crushed red pepper (love the hint of spice this gives the sausage), fennel seed, granulated onion and nutmeg. I just mixed all of this with my hands! Love food that I can get dirty with!


In a pot, combine the lentils, bay leaves and 1 onion. Cover with 2" of water and bring to a boil. Continue to cook for 20 minutes or until the lentils are tender.


Next in a food processor, combine the peeled potato, 2 peeled carrots, an onion, 3 cloves of garlic, 2 ribs of celery, a bunch of parsley and 2-3 springs of rosemary. Pulse the vegetables until chopped. This made this recipe so easy!!


Heat 3 T of olive oil in a pan and add the vegetable mixture. Cook for 6-8 minutes and then add 4 cups of beef broth and 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook for 12 minutes.


In another pan (see I told you this recipe used a lot of pots and pans), heat some olive oil and add the sausage mixture, cooking until brown.


Add the lentils and sausage mixture to the vegetable/broth mixture.

Serve with a smattering of Parmesan cheese and parsley. Delish!


INGREDIENTS

For the sausage:

1 pound ground pork
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon fennel seed, ground fennel or fennel pollen
1 teaspoon granulated onion (about 1/3 palmful)
A few grates fresh nutmeg or a pinch of ground nutmeg
For the lentils:

1 cup dried lentils
2 bay leaves
1 small onion, halved
1/2 teaspoon salt
For the soup base:

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus more for cooking
1 potato, peeled
2 carrots, peeled
1 onion
2-3 cloves garlic
2 ribs celery
1 bunch flat leaf parsley, stems and leaves separated, leaves finely chopped and reserved for garnish
2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves stripped
Salt and pepper
4 cups veal stock or beef stock
For garnish:

Grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Serves 4
PREPARATION

In a large bowl, combine the sausage ingredients and let stand for 15 minutes.

In a medium size saucepan, place the lentils with the bay leaves, onion and salt. Cover with 2 inches of water; bring to a boil and cook until tender but with some bite, 20-22 minutes. Drain and discard the bay leaves and onion.

Meanwhile, in a medium size soup pot, heat 3 tablespoons of the EVOO, a few turns of the pan, over medium heat. Using a food processor, pulse the vegetables, parsley stems and rosemary leaves until chopped; transfer to a pot. Season, cover and let ingredients sweat in the EVOO, 6-8 minutes. Add the stock and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooking, heat a little EVOO in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the sausage until brown and crumbly, about 5-7 minutes. Drain the fat, then stir the sausage into the soup along with the cooked lentils.

Serve the soup in shallow bowls and top with the reserved parsley leaves and the Pecorino Romano cheese.


This recipe is perfect for a cozy holiday meal at home or it could easily be used for entertaining. I really enjoyed the fresh vegetables and herbs, the homemade sausage and the lentils that were cooked quickly and perfectly. Cheers!