Lentil Soup
the lucky italian soup.
Full Recipe Video:
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
2 cups mirepoix (chopped onions, carrots, celery combo)
1 lb. Italian hot sausage; uncased
1 16 oz. bag of lentils
1 lb. white and/or cremini mushrooms
5 quarts beef broth
2-3 cloves garlic; minced
Fresh parmesan cheese
Salt & pepper to taste
Garlic powder
Crushed red pepper (optional)
3 tbsp. fresh parsley; chopped
In a large frying pan, cook your sausage. Chop until it’s crumbled and brown. Don’t cook all the way through, as it will continue to cook in your broth once added. Set aside.
Drizzle about 3 tbsp. olive oil in a large Dutch oven or pot. Add mirepoix mixture and garlic and cook over medium heat until browned and tender. Add mushrooms and continue to cook. As veggies are cooking down, and salt, pepper, garlic powder, and crushed red pepper(if you like spicy) to taste. You can start off with a little, taste as you go, and bring to the seasoning level you like. Also remember you will be adding your sausage and broth which adds a lot of salt as well. Stir and continue to cook.
Add sausage to cooked veggies. If you feel your sausage is excessively oily, you can drain some of the oil out before adding to your pot.
Add broth to pot. Bring broth to a simmer and add lentils and stir in. Add parsley. Cook until lenders are tender, about 20-30 mins. Taste and add any additional seasoning you feel it needs.
To serve, ladle into bowls and grate fresh parmesan cheese on top. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil.
Notes:
Many grocery stores and Trader Joe’s sell containers of mirepoix to save you from chopping, but if you do chop your own veggies, make sure you have equal parts carrots, celery, and yellow onion. You can also make this vegetarian friendly by eliminating the sausage and using vegetable broth.
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