Lentils With Garlic Sausage

IngridH's Note:

Adapted from Food & Wine, Oct 2011. A very easy, comforting dish for a cool evening. I'd serve this with a nice loaf of crusty bread and a glass of red wine.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lb garlic sausage or 1 lb kielbasa, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
• 2 leeks, white and light green parts only sliced thinly
• 1 carrot, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 cups green lentils
• 3 fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 1 bay leaf
• salt
• pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

Directions:

1. In a large dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the sausage pieces, and cook over medium high heat until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove sausage to a plate.
2. Add the leeks, carrot, and garlic to the oil in the pan and cook over medium heat until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the lentils, herbs, bay leaf, and 5 cups water; bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer over low heat until the lentils are tender, about 35 minutes. Remove the herb sprigs and bay leaf.
3. In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of olive oil with the mustard. Add the sausage back into the pot, and stir until sausage is warmed through. Transfer the stew to bowls, and drizzle with the mustard oil and parsley to serve.

Reviews

[Rita~]

Easy, delish, n healthy! I did use low sodium, low fat turkey kielbasa. Replaced the leeks with vidalia onion. Used fresh herbs picked from my garden. I didn't bother to remove the sausage kept it in while simmering. I did use veggie broth in place of the water. Herbs I removed from stems and rough chopped to keep in the stoup. I found this more a soup then stew. Did add a minced chili for a bit of heat. Loved the addition of mustard and oil even more the parsley. Thanks for the healthy eats!