Why have I never tried lentil soup before I was an adult
I can’t believe that I never ate lentils until about a year ago when I first tried this recipe. Lentils are very similar to beans. You buy them dried just like beans, but they are in a small disk-like shape instead of a bean shape. They are also a good source of protein and other good stuff just like beans except they cook in a quarter of the time! Awesome! They are so versatile. I actually just made a heating pad with them too and it works perfectly.
Okay. Enough about lentils. This lentil soup recipe is very hearty and savory. A perfect soup for those winter nights. The original recipe was meant to be vegetarian, but of course Mr. Hotness needs some manly meat in his food, so I added some sausage which complients it nicely.
Lessons Learned:
- Lentils are yummy!
- Lentils pair well with hearty meats like sausage. I bet bacon or beef would work well too.
- If you are warming it back up on the stove make sure to stir a lot or else you will get a nice black layer of burnt lentils 🙂
Lentil Soup
Author: Learn by Cooking
Ingredients
- 1 lb sausage of choice, chopped(I used some tequilla lime beef sausage)
- 1½ tsp cumin seeds (not ground)(this was my first time using them too. They are good)
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- ground black pepper to taste
- 1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes
- 3-4 medium size carrots, sliced
- 1½ cups lentils, rinced
- 4 cans chicken stock
- 2 cups chopped spinach
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat large pot over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook for about 5 minutes. Drain any excess oil from the pot except for about 1 Tbsp. Add the cumin seeds to the pot.
- When the cumin seeds start to pop a little, add the onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute until fraigrant. Add paprika, ground corriander, pepper, stewed tomatoes, and carrots. Break up the stewed tomatoes into smaller pieces with a spoon. Cook for a few minutes and stir everything together (your house is smelling pretty awesome right now).
- Add the lentils and chicken stock. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 30-40 minutes or until the lentils are fully cooked. Add the spinach and stir. Cook until the spinach is wilted, about 1 minute.
- I like to serve this with a wedge of lime. Just squeeze in a bit of lime juice before eating and it lightens up the soup a little.
(adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen’s Vegitarian Lentil Soup)
