spicy sausage & lentil soup

Ohmygoodness, Thanksgiving is this week. How? Why? What? It seems like Halloween just happened guys! I'm feeling very verklempt about this quick holiday turnaround. I can barely wrap my head around turkey and stuffing and candied yams when I'm still in costume, trick or treat, candy mode. Sheesh.

In an effort to play catch up for the impending holiday, I've been trying desperately to nail down my Thanksgiving day menu for this Thursday. More on that tomorrow.

In the meantime, you should know that I've been eating super healthy to compensate for the all-out binge coming up in three short days. So, soup it is. This soup sounds super healthy with all its veggies and lentils and whatnot. But, fear not, it's also full of spicy Italian sausage and lots of yummy spices. I made this soup for a boy. A brave move, I know, since it's not technically "man food." But it was nevertheless a hit...especially served with a warm loaf of beer bread and plenty o' red wine. :)

I do realize you are probably stressing about Thanksgiving food at the moment. However, I would encourage you to keep this recipe close by. I'm guessing that it might sound very appealing next week after days of a turkey/cranberry/gravy-induced coma. Something light yet hearty like this soup will be just what the doctor ordered. Or, maybe you want to bust out this soup recipe today. A little pre-holiday healthy eating is never a bad idea, right? Either way, bookmark this one. You can thank me later. :)

Spicy Sausage and Lentil Soup

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb spicy sausage, uncased
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
3 celery stalks, finely diced
2 carrots, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dried ground cumin
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cups uncooked French lentils, rinsed
8 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
parmesan cheese, for serving

Directions:
in a large saucepan over medium heat, warm olive oil. Add the uncased sausage and cook, breaking up with a spatula as it cooks. Sausage should finish cooking in small chunks. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon.

Add onions, celery, and carrots. Cook until the onions are transluscent, about 5 to seven minutes. Stir occasionally. Add the garlic, cumin, and red pepper flakes, and cook for one minute more.

Add the sausage back to the pan. Stir to incorporate. Add the lentils and chicken stock. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the soup, uncovered, until the lentils are tender, about 45 minutes.

Serve soup with a generous sprinkling of parmesan cheese. Soup will last, in an airtight container in the fridge, for up to 5 days. Soup also freezes well.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Source: slightly adapted from Joy the Baker