Lentil & Sausage Soup

Pure comfort food. That's what it is. The recipe I use is from Ian Garten's Barefoot in Paris cookbook, which I love. I've made quite a few things from this book and love how simple everything is. This recipe makes an insane amount of soup. I filled 6 spaghetti sauce jars and a large storage bowl. And it's filling. It doesn't take a lot to satisfy. Hubs has been asking me to make it for a while, so I finally gave in when I saw 4 rings of kielbasa in the freezer.

It's a fairly basic soup recipe with some great flavourings, specifically thyme and cumin. I loooove cumin. And thyme. They really are two of my favourite things to cook with. And garlic. Who can live without garlic? Not this gal!

There's also leeks. I really like leeks too. They're a great, mild flavour base. Milder than onions. I find when I use them with onions, there's another level, subtle, of flavour and aroma. They're also great grilled on the barbeque. However, I had no leeks kickin' around, and didn't feel like running to the store. So, they got left out this time.

I also ran out of chicken stock a while back, haven't made any more, and ran out of bouillon powder halfway through adding it to the pot. Vegetable stock to the rescue! Another great pantry staple I discovered a little while back.

These lentils rock. Little French green lentils, or lentil du puy, look like little dark green lenses. They don't fall apart like the other lentils do, so they're great when you want something to chew. They're great as a side dish, in soups, stews, whatever. They don't thicken, but instead are a constituent themselves.

And the sausage. I use kielbasa. I like this one. I grew up eating it. Some grocery stores around here carry it, or you can order a case. Or, if you're ever driving through Mundare, stop in and purchase some. Just make sure you're heading home soon or your whole car will smell like Ukrainian garlic sausage.

A bit of red wine as a finishing touch and you're good to go! Seriously, how good does that sound? I wish I had taken a picture of it in a bowl, but I ended up jarring it all for the fridge and freezer. When I heat some up for dinner, I'll make sure to take a picture and post it.