French lentil & garlic sausage soup
Earthy and satisfying, De Puy lentils are the perfect counterpoint to French garlic sausage in this comforting soup.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hours 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hours 60 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- 8 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 1 large onion, peeled and cut into quarters
- 2 stalks celery, trimmed and cut into thirds
- 1 carrot, peeled and cut into thirds
- 1 T plus 1/4 cup good extra virgin olive oil plus more for garnishing
- 3 pounds garlic sausage, cut at an angle into 1/2” slices
- 17 ounces De Puy Lentils
- 2 T fresh thyme, chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 T kosher or coarse sea salt
- Ground pepper
- 10 – 12 cups of chicken stock or more, depending on how thick you like your soup
- Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano (optional)
Instructions
- Place garlic cloves in food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add onion, celery and carrot and pulse until coarsely chopped. Set aside.
- Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large heavy gauge pot. A Le Creuset Dutch oven is the perfect pot for this recipe. Brown the sausage on all sides, working in batches. Remove the browned sausage from the pan and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Leave the rendered sausage fat in the pot.
- Add the chopped vegetables to the fat in the pot and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Take care not to burn.
- Add 1/4 cup olive oil, lentils, thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Stir to combine and let cook about a minute. Add enough chicken stock to cover vegetable and lentil mixture. Bring to a boil and then lower temperature and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add 2 cups of chicken stock, more if you prefer a more soup-like consistency. Return sausage to the pot and simmer about an hour uncovered.
- Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, a crusty piece of bread and a simple salad. Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano is a nice optional garnish