Put Andouille On It!

As it is Wintertime, I do enjoy a good soup. I have a tendency to fall back on favorites, Tomato Soup and Open Face Veggie Sandwiches, Italian Wedding Soup ,some deliciously comforting Ribollita, or just a hardy bowl of The Big G’s Lentil Soup, however The Husband does get tired of this list. And well he should, most people don’t have the same love of soup and sandwiches that I do. Honestly, I would probably eat either a bowl of good soup or a great sandwich for every meal if I could. I’ve always been like that.

So I try to change it up once in a while, so The Husband doesn’t grow that weary of my obsession. When I came across this recipe in the Food52 blog, I thought it was something we both could enjoy. I changed a few things, simply because I didn’t have some of them when I made this, or because I thought that three tablespoons of ketchup is just really unappealing.

In the end, both The Husband and I were happy. As a matter of fact, The Husband was eating this and turned and said “You can make this any time you want…ever.” I fear he may have said that too soon. It will be added to the soup rotation. Although Winter is ending and with it goes hardy soup season….But I’m fairly confident that it will be made at least one more time this season and for sure the winter of 2013-2014 will see a few bowls of this one.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup lentils
2 Bay Leaves
2 TBS olive oil, divided
1 LB Andouille Sausage (uncooked and whole)
1 Large Yellow Onion, Chopped
4 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
3 Celery Stalks, Chopped
1 TBS Marjoram
2 Cups of Chopped Baby Carrots
4 Cups Low sodium Chicken Stock
1 TBS organic ketchup
1 Small Bag of Baby Spinach
¼ cup chopped parsley
Salt and pepper, to taste
Red wine vinegar, to taste
Crusty French Bread

The morning of, pour lentils into a bowl and fill with water; let them soak for the day. I generally do this before I leave for work.

When you’re ready to cook, in a large pot (I use my round Dutch Oven), heat the olive oil, bay leaves and sausage. Cook the sausages until they are almost totally cooked through, there should be a tiny bit of pink in the center if you cut into one. This should be around 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the sausage slices with a slotted spoon and set them aside, making sure to keep all of that delicious fat inside.

Cook the onions, celery, carrots and garlic to the pot with the sausage fat. Cook until they are softened, around 15 minutes or so, make sure you keep stirring so that the vegetables don’t brown. Strain the lentils from the bowl and make sure there are no stones. Add the chicken stock, lentils, marjoram and stir well, continuing to cook. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Once you’ve added the lentil, cut the sausages up into ½ inch pieces and add them, along with the Ketchup and stir.

Let the soup cook on medium low heat for forty minutes (so that the soup is simmering). Making sure you stir occasionally. If the lentils start to suck up all of the liquid, add some more broth, or a little water.

Cook until the carrots are tender. Taste the soup, if it needs more salt or pepper, add now.


Add the spinach and the parsley.

When serving, you can put a dash of red wine vinegar on the soup. It adds a really nice tartness to the soup.

Serve with some warmed, crusty French bread and enjoy!