RCP: Lentil Soup w/ Italian Sausage & Escarole

Made this tonight on a cold rainy Oakland evening. Very tasty. I did add a couple of dashes of Tapatio hot sauce and cut the sausage into 1/2 in pieces instead of 1 inch pieces. Traci isn't home yet but I may be full from sampling by the time she does....


Lentil Soup with Italian Sausage and Escarole Gourmet | October 2008

by Maggie Ruggiero

Nuggets of sausage give a little meatball action to this hearty, no-fuss soup chock-full of healthy escarole and lentils.
Yield: Makes 6 to 8 (main course) servings
Active Time: 20 min
Total Time: 45 min
ingredients
1 2/3 cups lentils (11 ounces), rinsed well
5 cups water
3 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped, divided
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian sausage links, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 pound escarole, chopped (4 cups packed)
1 to 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

Accompaniment: croutons
preparation

Simmer lentils, water, broth, bay leaf, and half of garlic in a 4-quart pot, uncovered, 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a wide heavy 5- to 6-quart pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Brown sausage, about 7 minutes. Transfer sausage with a slotted spoon to a bowl.

Reduce heat to medium and cook onion, carrots, celery, remaining garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add sausage and lentils with cooking liquid and simmer, uncovered, until lentils are tender, 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir in escarole and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in vinegar to taste and season with salt and pepper. Discard bay leaf.

I love a pot of soup on a rainy, cold night. It's pouring here and freezing cold, too. Well, relatively speaking.

We had posole.

Just three days into the week - it's 20 degrees right now with several inches of snow on the ground. I've made Split Pea Soup, German Cabbage Soup, and Clam Chowder. Cornbread with all three.

YEs, for us now in the minus double digits soup is the thing. Some of the blanched, frozen summer black kale found its way into a 3 bean/ham soup. I am always amazed at the complexity of flavors in that kale - very mineral tasting

[Jenise]

Stir in escarole and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in vinegar to taste and season with salt and pepper. Discard bay leaf.

YUM! We were discussing lentil soups here recently--I love the looks of this one. Never have added escarole to a soup, but it's a green with which I've fallen in love over the past year, and I'm really into working with it. Maybe I'll pick up the ingredients for it today--it's supposed to snow tonight, tomorrow would be a great day for a soup like this. Looks like your result is one where the lentils stay fairly firm and intact? That's how I prefer it, at least for the first bowl. It's okay if subsequent reheats result in creamier versions--I'm always so grateful for leftovers. Thanks for the post.

[Jenise]

Made this tonight on a cold rainy Oakland evening. Very tasty. I did add a couple of dashes of Tapatio hot sauce and cut the sausage into 1/2 in pieces instead of 1 inch pieces. Traci isn't home yet but I may be full from sampling by the time she does....


Lentil Soup with Italian Sausage and Escarole Gourmet | October 2008

by Maggie Ruggiero

Nuggets of sausage give a little meatball action to this hearty, no-fuss soup chock-full of healthy escarole and lentils.
Yield: Makes 6 to 8 (main course) servings
Active Time: 20 min
Total Time: 45 min
ingredients
1 2/3 cups lentils (11 ounces), rinsed well
5 cups water
3 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped, divided
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian sausage links, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 pound escarole, chopped (4 cups packed)
1 to 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

Accompaniment: croutons
preparation

Simmer lentils, water, broth, bay leaf, and half of garlic in a 4-quart pot, uncovered, 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a wide heavy 5- to 6-quart pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Brown sausage, about 7 minutes. Transfer sausage with a slotted spoon to a bowl.

Reduce heat to medium and cook onion, carrots, celery, remaining garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add sausage and lentils with cooking liquid and simmer, uncovered, until lentils are tender, 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir in escarole and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in vinegar to taste and season with salt and pepper. Discard bay leaf.

Jenise - let me know what you think. I will say that talking it over with Traci last night, I might have added a little more red wine vinegar or even a squeeze of lemon juice for a little more acidity. Otherwise, it is rich, satisfying and pretty healthy on a cold evening!

and pretty soon we will be awash in meyer lemons since my mom is sending up a box from the tree I grew up with...it must be near 40 years old at this point

YEs, for us now in the minus double digits soup is the thing. Some of the blanched, frozen summer black kale found its way into a 3 bean/ham soup. I am always amazed at the complexity of flavors in that kale - very mineral tasting

Georgina, do you de-stem the kale to a point of carving it from the leaf? I sometimes do that because it can be very tough. I only do it though to the largest stems. I always break the stems off where the leaf begins though.