After having the artichoke bread on the weekend, I was looking for something a little lighter and a little healthier for lunches during the week. Soups very often fit that bill and I had been thinking of making a lentil soup with winter greens for a while. I have not been doing much with the winter greens lately and I was thinking that some kale would go nicely in a soup or stew. I wanted a little bit of meat in the stew as well and Italian sausage always bring a ton of flavour to soups so they were in. I of course started the soup with the a healthy dose of the basics, diced onions, celery and carrots for even more vegetable goodness. After that it was just a matter of adding the liquid, white wine and chicken stock, and some aromas and flavours in the form of bay leaves, oregano and a splash of balsamic vinegar. (I wanted this to be more of a stew than a soup so I cut back on the amount of liquid that I would have used, but if you want it to be more soup like feel free to add another cup of the chicken stock.) I also happened to have a parmigiano reggiano rind in my freezer so I tossed that into the soup while it was simmering to add even more flavour. This soup is pretty simple to make and it can be done in about an hour.
The lentil stew with Italian sausage and kale turned out really well! It was nice and warm and just full of flavour and healthy vegetables and it really hit the spot on the cold winter days. I had half of a loaf of bread left from the artichoke bread and that was the perfect excuse to slather it up with garlicky butter and toast it with some cheese on top. The cheesy garlic bread was perfect for soaking up that lat bit of tasty stew from the bottom of the bowl.
Lentil Stew with Italian Sausage and Kale
ingredients
- 1/2 pound Italian sausage (casing removed and crumbled)
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 onion (diced)
- 1 carrot (diced)
- 2 stalks celery (diced)
- 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
- chili pepper flakes to taste
- 1 cup white wine (or chicken stock)
- 1 cup de puy lentils
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 parmigiano reggiano rind (optional)
- 1 bunch kale (cut into bit sized pieces) (or spinach or swiss chard, etc.)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup parsley (chopped)
directions
- Cook the sausage in a large pot and set aside.
- Heat the oil in the same pot.
- All the onions, carrot and celery and and cook until tender, about 10-15 minutes.
- Add the garlic and chili pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add the wine and deglaze the pan.
- Add the sausage, lentils, chicken stock, bay leaf, oregano, balsamic vinegar and parmigiano reggiano rind and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the lentils are cooked al dente, about 20-30 minutes.
- Add the kale and simmer until wilted.
- Season with salt and pepper, remove from heat and mix in the parsley.
This look so hearty and delicious! I wonder if this would be a good with a turkey or chicken sausage too? I not the biggest fan of pork sausage-I'm weird like that.
Being crazy about lentils, as I am, I always appreciate someone else's take on them. I've never cooked kale with lentils; that might have to be this Saturday's late-lunch project. Nice one!
mmm this looks really good, and hearty.
Hearty and delicious…hard to beat that combo.
I made a lentil and andouille soup shortly ago. love lentils!! the kale I must try in it!
The stew looks good, but I am so glad you already posted that garlic bread recipe, it looks amazing!
This sounds like the perfect thing to warm us up with all the cold weather we're having!
That looks very close to the lentil and sausage stew I made for New Year's Day. Very tasty combination!
Geez, Kev, I wish I could move in every night just before dinner. You sure do know how to feed people well!!!
This sounds supremely hearty and delicious. I love the parmesan rind trick! You get so much flavor out of it.
A magnificent stew! A fabulous combination!
Cheers,
Rosa
Looks great, another lentil recipe to try. Always on the lookout for good stuff with lentils. Thanks.
This is something my husband would go crazy for. Anything lentil and sausage and it looks hearty and appealing.
That looks hearty, Kevin, perfect for these cold days.
This is on my list for next week! Sounds wonderful!
What a healthy, hearty dish. I love anything with kale in it!
Yum! This speaks to my *soul*!! 🙂 Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Love lentils – the recipe looks great, thanks!
Just found your blog; It's good to see other tiny-kitchened Torontonians making delicious things from less than ideal kitchens. Your food looks excellent! This and the asparagus-gruyere tart have just moved to the top of my need-to-cook-soon list.
Can this be made as a vegetarian stew?
Love lentils, kale and Italian sausage. This is my kind of recipe!
Pam
As always, your food beckons Kevin.
Oh Kevin, as usual you are outdoing everyone with your deliciousness. I love lentils and sausage-true comfort food. Maybe I will use the organic black lentils I have to make something like this??!! Gotta go get some good sausage. Cam
This looks so hearty and delicious. I love lentil stews!
This looks great..I plan to make this soon. thanks
Oh this looks delicious! I can only imagine what great flavor the Italian sausage introduces to the lentils. Wonderful recipe!
I really like lentils, but I've never cooked with them…Did you start with dried lentils, or cooked lentils for this?
And another winner… I love Italian sausage too – like Toulouse sausage, it just imparts so much flavour to any dish. And I'm always a sucker for lentils!
I just happen to have some lentils that need to be used up – this stew looks warm, comforting and delicious.
Rachael: Turkey or chicken sausage would also work great!
Anonymous: You could make a vegetarian version of this but the sausage adds a lot of flavour so you would have to compensate.
Jacob: Yes I started with dried lentils. You could use canned if you like though.
This looks amazing! I have been wanting to find a recipe for a sausage lentil soup… I think this may have just hit the spot! Thank you!
Looks delicious !
I had all of the ingredients in the house and took it as a sign that this recipe needed to be made asap. Wow! It is the best lentil stew I've eaten to date. The cheese rinds gave it a depth of flavor not to be rivaled.
Made this one tonight! I had some elk Italian sausage hanging out in my freezer (I know, weird) and decided this would be a good recipe to use for it! Very simple and extremely delicious. I had a lb of the elk, so I used 2 carrots, 3 stalks of celery, 4 cloves of garlic, 4 cups of veg stock, 1 1/2 cups of the lentils, 1 1/2 tbsp of balsamic vin, and a little more than a cup of the white wine and presto! Thanks for sharing all of your recipes! I've really enjoyed your site.
Absolutely fantastic recipe!! So much flavor, which is hard to achieve with Lentils. Thanks for the great recipe!
this stew was great but it might benefit from adding a few tablespoons of tomato paste when you add the garlic and red pepper flakes, then saute it for a few minutes before adding the wine for a little more depth of flavor…
Kevin, your adventurous cooking and absolutely gorgeous photography never cease to amaze me. You are my favorite food blogger! I have a bumper crop of Kale (as well as chard & collards) and am looking forward to making several of your dishes in the coming week. Having all the ingredients (except the parm rind) I simmered this today and have eaten 2 bowls for lunch! p.s. my wife and I are planning a trip to Toronto in the coming months, perhaps we can meet for dinner! Keep up the great work, and continue to let your curiousity run wild regarding how unusual pairings of food make such MAGIC in your closet kitchen! Thanks!
I’m coming back…11 years later, to say I’ve been making this recipe for years with zero moderation and it’s been fabulous. I’ve also recommended it to others. Big winner in my household!