Yep. It’s a snow day here today. Probably the result of Vermont thinking that the blizzard further south might be contagious.
Not that I mind a relaxing Tuesday at home with a pretty coat of snow outside my window…. and the electricity intact.
A snow day is perfect for stirring up some soup like this Quick Homemade Sausage & Lentil Soup.
Homemade sausage?
Not the meat grinder/ sausage stuffer required links. Yuck. I want no part of making those at home.
But this quick homemade sausage…now we are talking. It’s a lightly seasoned bulk sausage with the bonus that you know what every ingredient is.
Combine that yummy sausage with some lentils, a veggie packed soup base and a healthy sprinkle of cheese and you have one dynamic bowl of goodness. Perfect for warming up after playing in the snow.
The simple, but tasty Toasted Cheese Bread is a nice accompaniment to the soup.
Quick Homemade Sausage & Lentil Soup
Ingredients:
Homemade Sausage (recipe follows)
1/2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
Lentils (recipe follows)
Soup Base (recipe follows)
Grated pecorino-romano cheese
Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the sausage until brown and crumbly, about 6 minutes. Drain.
2. Stir the sausage into the soup base along with the cooked lentils.
3. Serve the soup in shallow bowls and top with the reserved parsley leaves and the grated cheese.
Serves 4
Recipes from Every Day With Rachael Ray Magazine
Homemade Sausage
Ingredients:
1 pound ground pork
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1 teaspoon granulated onion
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine the sausage ingredients and let stand 15 minutes.
Lentils
Ingredients:
1 cup dried lentils
2 bay leaves
1 small onion, halved
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:
1. In a medium saucepan, combine all of the ingredients. Cover with 2 inches of water, bring to a boil and cook until the lentils are tender but still retain some bite, about 20 minutes. Drain. Discard the bay leaves and onion.
Soup Base
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 potato, peeled
2 carrots, peeled
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
2 ribs celery
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, stems and leaves separated, leaves finely chopped and reserved for garnish
3 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves removed
Salt and pepper
4 cups beef stock
Directions:
1. In a soup pot, heat the 3 tablespoons of oil over medium heat.
2. In a food processor, pulse the potato, carrots, onion, garlic, celery, parsley stems and rosemary leaves until chopped.
3. Transfer vegetable mixture to soup pot. Season, cover and allow ingredients to sweat in the oil, about 7 minutes.
4. Add the stock and 2 cups water to the soup pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes.
Toasted Cheese Bread
Ingredients:
1 baguette
8 tablespoons butter, softened
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350℉.
2. Combine butter, garlic and Parmesan.
3. Slice the bread but do not cut all the way through the bread.
4. Spoon some of the butter mixture between each slice.
5. Wrap with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Unwrap and bake for 5 minutes more until bread nice and toasted.
I love this sad, soulful song. It’s heating up my day.
Check out Nees And Vos on their Website where you can buy the music.
Cheers!
