Lentil Soup Recipe

17 years ago

Hey, y'all. I know it's not really the season, but I was at a middle-eastern market the other day and picked up some beautiful red lentils. That, of course, made me want lentil soup, even in the heat of our early summer. I found the best recipe ever on Epicurious, and want to share it with you. I'm not sure if it's the toasted fennel seeds or the thyme, but something gives it a wonderfully delicate flavor. I substituted red lentils for the regular, low-fat chicken andouille sausage from Costco for the regular andouille, and all chicken broth instead of any beef broth. Enjoy! Nancy

lentil soup with andouille sausage

Bon AppÃ©tit : October 1997

Serves 6.

Giuseppe's Italian CafÃ©, Williamsburg, VA

4 1/2 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth

4 1/2 cups beef stock or canned broth

1 1/2 cups dried lentils

2 teaspoons fennel seeds

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/3 cup chopped celery

1/3 cup chopped carrot

1/3 cup chopped onion

6 ounces andouille sausage, halved lengthwise, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 teaspoons dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon Creole seasoning

Combine both stocks and lentils in large pot over high heat. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat medium skillet over medium heat. Add fennel; sautÃ© until seeds are light golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove seeds from skillet.

Heat oil in same skillet over medium heat. Add celery, carrot and onion; sautÃ© until onion is translucent and celery and carrot are tender, about 5 minutes.

Add toasted fennel seeds, sautÃ©ed vegetables, sausage, thyme and Creole seasoning to soup. Cover and simmer until lentils are very tender, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Rewarm over medium heat, stirring occasionally.)

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Comments (5)

lindac
17 years ago
sounds wonderful....
Is it a very "brothy" soup? Seems like a lot to have more than 2 quarts of broth and only 1 cup of veggies and 1 1/2 cups lentils. But maybe the red lentils swell more than I am remembering.

Wonder if I could sub Italian sausage for andouille...as I can't find that here in whith bread Middle of Iowa!
Linda C
rachelellen
17 years ago
I love lentils any time of the year. In the summer time, if I just can't bear to have something simmering on the stove, I put my crock pot out on the porch and cook them out there. Lentil soup doesn't have to be really thick either. Indian people make many lentil based soups, from the consistency of a broth to that of a dip.

I'm sure you could sub any kind of sausage, but as andouille is a spicy,smoked sausage, you'd probably get closer using whatever smoked sausage you could find...do the stores have hot links? Or, you could probably get by using a spicy Italian sausage and then adding just a drop of liquid smoke. If you've never used liquid smoke in your cooking, take what I said about "a drop" seriously...the stuff's wicked strong.
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jimster
17 years ago
That sounds good. Soup, lentil or any kind, is never out of season so far as I'm concerned. I had lentil soup a couple of days ago. Lentils are convenient because they cook up so much quicker than other dried legumes when I want a hearty soup.

Linda, your store must have some sort of smoked sausage. Keilbasa makes a fine substitute for andouille IMO. Some of the well known brands make something just called "smoked sausage" which is much like andouille. Nothing wrong with using the Italian either. It would be good even if not identical to the original recipe.

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proudmamato4
Original Author
17 years ago
Linda, my soup was "soupy" and the lentils pretty much disintegrated. But it was really the best I ever had. I would tend to agree that a smoked sausage would be better than Italian, kielbasa would be fine. I have recently seen chorizo in the deli at Weis. I expressed my surprise, and the lady working the counter says it's a new thing they've been trying for about a month.

And I agree that soup is good any time of year. But when you search for recipes from Epicurious, you'll notice that most recipes are posted in the Fall and Winter months. I've always been told that hot soup on a hot day actually cools you off. Same with hot tea. Not sure if it's true, but I try it often :-)

Nancy
jimster
17 years ago
The last time I made lentil soup, I put in a couple of good dollops of sofrito from a jar I have in the fridge (Goya brand ). That was the first time I have used bottled sofrito in anything and it will now be a regular ingredient in my lentil soup. I also used a beef bullion cube and red pepper flakes. It was pretty tasty. Thickness was medium.

Jim

Lentil Soup Recipe

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lindac

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Lentil Soup Recipe

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lindac

rachelellen

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