Sausage and Lentil Soup

I made this soup about a week ago. The recipe came from GRID magazine (a great local magazine on all things sustainable), in a special article with soup recipes. The author, Marisa McClellan, also blogs at Food In Jars, one of my favorite canning blogs!

I altered the recipe slightly, and my adaptations are below. The original recipe can be found here.

This is a terrific cold weather soup! Well, a terrific soup in general! It was soooooooo....good. Thanks Marisa!

Very hearty, but not too heavy. I substituted lentils (because I love lentil soup) and omitted the celery (because Randi and Andrew have an aversion to celery).

I didn't not take any pictures because we were starving when it was ready. Served with some nice multi-grain rolls, delicious!

Sausage and Escarole Soup - Photo Courtesy of GRID Magazine and Marisa McClellan

Sausage and Lentil Soup
Courtesy of GRID Magazine and Marisa McClellan of Food In Jars

Ingredients:

1     tbsp. olive oil
2     leeks, well-washed and chopped into thin half-moons
3     carrots, diced
1    onion, finely chopped
1     tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
1     pound bulk sausage (I used spicy Italian sausage)
2     quarts chicken stock
6     cups water
2     cups dry lentils
1     head chard, well-washed and chopped
1     tbsp. kosher salt
½     tsp. freshly ground pepper

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil until it shimmers. Add leeks, carrots, onion and rosemary, and brown for seven to eight minutes. When the vegetables are golden, push them to the edges of the pot, creating a well in the center. Drop the sausage into that center well and break it up with a wooden spatula as it cooks.

Once the sausage is brown and has been stirred into the vegetables, add your liquid and lentils. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and let cook for approximately 2 hours (until lentils are soft). Ten minutes prior to serving, add chard.  Serve when the greens are fully wilted.