Scale
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup olive oil, divided
- 1 pound hot sausage, casings removed
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced (reserve half for later in recipe)
- kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- a generous pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 cup brown lentils, sorted and rinsed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 6 cups water
- 1 5-ounce clamshell baby spinach, chopped into ribbons (optional, but recommended — even though I forgot)
Instructions
- Heat 1/4 cup olive oil (enough to coat bottom of pot) in a large pot on medium heat. When hot, brown the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon into small crumbles, about 10-12 minutes.
- Add the onion, celery, carrots, two of the sliced garlic cloves, a pinch of salt, and the red pepper flakes. Cook with the sausage until the vegetables soften a bit, another 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for an additional minute or two.
- Add the lentils, bay leaves, tomatoes and water (pro tip: use the tomato can to get any pulp you missed — 6 cups is a little less than 2 can-fuls). Bring to a simmer and allow to cook until the lentils are tender, about 40 minutes. (You may need to add more water if the soup gets too thick, though you’ll want this to be a bit chunky.)
- When the lentils are cooked, add additional salt and pepper. If using the spinach, add it in and cook for 2-3 minutes, just until the leaves are tender. Discard the bay leaves.
- Make the garlic oil: heat the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil and the 2 sliced garlic cloves in a small skillet until the garlic softens and hisses.
- Divide the soup into bowls, then drizzle the garlic oil over the soup bowls.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6