Wednesday, December 16, 2015

LENTIL AND VEGETABLE STEW WITH SAUSAGE RECIPE

Here is a recipe that 2nd Man makes all the time and we just love it.  It's especially good on cold, rainy days like we just had this past weekend...and so I took these photos!


This is the end result but what follows are the details of how you get there:


Here are the ingredients you'll start out with...celery, carrots and onions.



Heat a large pan with approximately 2 TBSP olive oil.  Sauté the celery until softened and the moisture starts to evaporate from the celery.



Next, add the shredded carrots and continue to sauté until they begin to soften as well.




Finally, add the onions and sauté until they turn soft and translucent.  At this point, the veggies should all be soft and full of flavor.



Now, add 2 lbs of mild Italian sausage, you can use ground or the links with casing removed.  Continue to cook until browned and fully cooked.



Here are the final few ingredients...a whole bay leaf, a small bunch of Thyme (tied together to make removal easier), 5 cloves of garlic (you can use less), and 2 TBSP of tomato paste.



Make an opening in the middle of the mixture and put the tomato paste.  Sauté for a couple of minutes to really bring out the flavor.




Add the thyme bundle, the bay leaf, the garlic (leave whole or chop) and the 2 cups of lentils.



Add 6 cups of chicken broth (homemade stock is wonderful in this) and 2 cups of water, salt and pepper to taste and stir to combine.





Bring to boil, reduce to low and simmer, uncovered, on low for 20 to 25 minutes.  Skim off any foam that comes up.  It will thicken and of course the the liquid will reduce a bit.



Turn off the heat and then pour 1 1/2 TBSP of balsamic vinegar over the top and stir to combine.  
Lentils with vegetables and sausage 
It's ready to serve!

It's substantial and hearty and healthy.  You can also leave out the the Italian sausage, and substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth and it becomes a great vegetarian dish.  We love it with some crusty bread on the side.  It's even better the next day after it sits overnight and the flavors meld.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup chopped celery
2 medium onions, chopped
2 lbs mild Italian sausage (optional if vegetarian)
5 cloves garlic, whole
1 small bunch of fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
2 TBSP tomato paste
2 TBSP olive oil
2 cups (16 oz) red lentils (can also use green or brown)
6 cups chicken broth (vegetable if vegetarian)
2 cups water
1 1/2 TBSP balsamic vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
Salt and pepper to taste

See step by step of ingredients listed are in photos above.

Enjoy!

21 comments:

  1. Um, hell yeah, that looks wonderfulz!

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  2. Looks so good on a cold day like I'm having. Thanks tell 2nd man I love him ha.

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    1. Ha, thank you for that, I will pass that along to him. But you'll have to get in line, LOL!!!

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  3. if we ever get any cool weather here i'm making this! i love lentils! it's 70 degrees here today and sunny...blah!

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    1. Lentils are so good aren't they? 70? Dang, were in the 50's here. This weather is whacky....

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  4. 1st Man,

    Your stew looks might fine, thanks for sharing the recipe.

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  5. Please. Tell me what part of the grocery store do you find the tomato paste? I've looked and looked and cannot find it. It looks delicious by the way. I would use chicken instead of the sausage. Yum!

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    1. We get them at either Kroger or HEB (two large chains here in Texas). At Kroger, they are usually in the section that has "Italian" items (you'd think near the tomato products). They have a section with imported stuff, San Marzano canned tomatoes, some olive oils, pastas, etc....they usually have the tomato paste, anchovy paste, hot pepper paste, etc. Now at HEB, they have them near the tomato products at one location, and at another location they are near the bouillon cubes and gravy.

      And yes! chicken would be lovely! We might just have to try that too. Thanks!

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  6. I'm sure that is yummy! I long term stock Lentils because they're easy and quick to cook and they taste good also. I use them in veggy burgers and my favorite, Lentils and Rice with broth soup.

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    1. I didn't think (or know) about that and lentils. might be nice long term storage as something different than just regular beans. Thanks for that!! Have never made veggie burgers but love eating them. Might have to google some recipes.

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  7. Replies
    1. Ha, I should have added that it smells heavenly while it's cooking. :-)

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  8. Joani,
    I find those in the produce dept or in the aisle with other bouillion seasoning in jar.

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    1. Thanks for this! I never thought about produce department. Grocery stores are always so weird in how they arrange stuff.

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  9. This looks sooo good! I'm adding this to my soup recipe file. Tell 2nd Man thanks for the great recipe!

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