Italian Sausage & Lentil Soup

The lentil soup was really new for me.  I'm sure I'd had lentils in soup before, but I have no immediate memory of it.  I know we didn't grow up eating lentils.  Believe it or not, we DO try to eat healthy at home most the time.  And in an effort to better our carb intake (which means cut out the bad carbs and add in the good ones that are low on the glycemic index - ooh, science!), we picked up some green lentils.  They sat in our pantry for a couple of months before I pulled them out and just decided to throw together a random soup... which was deliciously successful.  I'm not even sure it's fair to call this a "soup".  I wanted something a little thicker and hardier, so I suppose it's almost stew-like.  Whatever it is, it's good.  And that's what counts.

We rocked out with our friend Betsy's excellent Boston choice - The Unseen, singing "False Hope".  -jen

ITALIAN SAUSAGE & LENTIL SOUP

• 1 pound Italian sausage (I used 1/2 mild, 1/2 hot)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 ribs celery, chopped
• 3 large carrots, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 2 Anaheim peppers, chopped
• 1 jalapeño, chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• 1.5 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 can (14.5oz) peeled tomatoes
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups lentils
• 1/4 cup sherry
• dash of hot sauce
• dash of Worcestershire
• salt and pepper to taste

In a stock pot over medium-high heat, brown sausage.  When nearly cooked through, add 2 tablespoons of butter.  Then add onion, celery, carrots, bell pepper, Anaheim peppers, and jalapeño.  Cook until onions are just becoming translucent.  Add garlic basil, thyme and rosemary, cooking for another 2 minutes.  Sprinkle flour over vegetable and sausage mixture, stirring to mix in and cook 5 more minutes.  Then add tomatoes, chicken broth, lentils, sherry, hot sauce and Worcestershire.  Bring to a boil, then turn down heat and simmer for 30 minutes until lentils are tender.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Served here with kale chips!