Lentil soup. My husband talks more about his love of lentil soup than some men talk about sports. For example, when my family was discussing meal options for Christmas Eve 2011, Steve suggested lentil soup. What is this? Oliver Twist? The idea was immediately vetoed.
However, as I was flipping through my most recent Real Simple magazine, I was reading an article about various greens (kale, beet greens, dandelion greens, etc). The article talked about the different kinds of greens out there, how to prepare and eat them, along with recipes to try.
One such recipe was a Lentil Stew, with hearty mix of ingredients, including mustard greens. Intrigued by the recipe, and my husband’s love of lentils, I decided to give it a whirl.
The stew was delicious – and has quickly risen to one of my personal favorite recipes. It might not be worthy of Christmas Eve dinner, but it’s pretty tasty for a cold winter’s night.
Lentil Stew, c/o Real Simple Magazine
Ingredients
1 TBSP olive oil
3/4 lb sausage, casing removed (I used Italian style turkey sausage)
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
6 C chicken broth
6 C stemmed and torn mustard greens or kale (this is the equivalent to 1 bunch)
1 lb sweet potatoes (about 2 medium), peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 C dried lentils
Salt & Pepper
Preparation
Heat oil in large pot over medium high heat. Add sausage, crumbling it as you go, into pot. Cook for 8-10 minutes, until browned. Add onions and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute.
Add broth, lentils, mustard greens, sweet potatoes, salt and pepper to the sausage and onion mix. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Leave pot partially covered, stirring occasionally, for 30-35 minutes, until lentils and potatoes are done.
I will print this for my home recipe collection. Thanks!
It’s pretty tasty.
Oh how I love lentils! I could probably get Tyler to try this soup since it also incorporates sausage. I also read the Real Simple recipe. It’s cool to see it in action. Must try!
Definitely give it a try. It’s a hearty stew, so it’s seems to be more “guy friendly.” Add some nice white bread to the side, along with an iceberg salad, and I think you’ll sell Tyler on it!
You can also go all yuppie and throw in a handful of arugula (older better than baby). For British working-class cred you can call the leaves “rocket.”
Mmmmm – old arugula. You are really onto something, Jason!
Sounds yummy – but I need to make a veggie option for my hubby. I suppose I could just take out the sausage and use veggie broth…
Definitely – I’ll bet it would be just as good with a vegetable broth. Are there non-meat alternatives for the sausage? If so, I’d say give it a try!
I also have a pureed broccoli and spinach soup I’ll be posting next week – I did use chicken broth in that, but that could be made easily into a vegetarian option with vegetable broth.