Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon EVOO - Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 pound bulk hot Italian sausage
- 1 cup lentils
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 to 4 cloves of garlic, grated or chopped
- 1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, wiped clean and thinly sliced
- 1 baking potato, peeled and diced
- 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves removed and chopped
- 3 to 4 sprigs thyme, leaves removed
- Salt and ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 bunch kale, thick stems removed and discarded, leaves shredded
Preparation
Place a large soup pot over medium-high heat with one turn of the pan of EVOO, about 1 tablespoon. Once hot, add the sausage and sauté for 3-4 minutes, breaking it up into small pieces with the back of a spoon or a potato masher as it cooks and browns.
While the sausage is browning, pour the lentils out onto a light-colored plate and sift through them. Discard any small stones -- sometimes you find them sometimes you don't, but better safe than sorry.
To the browned sausage, add the onion, garlic, mushrooms, potato, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper and the tomato paste. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3-4 minutes.
Add the stock and 2 cups of water, turn the heat up to high and bring up to a bubble. Add the lentils and the kale, stir until the kale wilts in then turn the heat down to medium and simmer 30-40 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Serve.
Taken from Rachel Ray's site .
We made this soup a couple of times after we started getting the bi-weekly organic vegetable boxes from our CSA farm (including big kale heads). We used the sausages they sell at the meat counter in the supermarket, labeled as 'spicy italian'. The first time we used turkey sausage, which was fine, but we didn't put enough. The second time we used pork, and it was better. I also was more generous with the kale, which reduces in volume when it wilts. This is a great, hearty recipe.
ReplyDelete