Italian Sausage And Lentil Soup

Total Time: 13 hrs Preparation Time: 12 hrs Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 1 lb italian sausage (hot or sweet, as you prefer)
• 1 medium onion, peeled and diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 celery, diced (stalks)
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste (we use no salt)
• 1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes (we use no salt)
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce (no salt)
• 8 cups beef broth (low-sodium)
• 1 tablespoon italian seasoning, crushed (dried)
• 1 cup dried brown lentils, rinsed and picked free of stones
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• ground black pepper, to taste

Recipe

• 1 the night before preparing the soup put the lentils in a large bowl and cover them with about 1 inch of water. allow to "soak" over night. in the morning rinse and drain the lentils. set aside to be added to the soup as directed.
• 2 in a large soup kettle brown the sausage, breaking it into small pieces as it cooks. (use bulk sausage or remove any casings).
• 3 remove sausage, drain fat, leaving a small film of fat on the bottom of the kettle.
• 4 add the onion, carrots, and celery; saute over medium for about 10 minutes, adding the garlic for the last 2 minutes.
• 5 stir in the tomato paste and cook over medium for about 2 minutes.
• 6 return the sausage to the pan. stir in the tomatoes in their juice, tomato sauce, beef broth and italian seasoning.
• 7 bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
• 8 stir in lentils and water; cook for 20 minutes, tasting lentils for "doneness" and cooking longer if necessary.
• 9 add a bit more water if necessary - depending on how "thirsty" your lentils are - this is a thick soup but there should be some broth.
• 10 serve, allowing each person to add grated parmesan and freshly ground black pepper as desired.