Sausage and Lentil Soup

tammy dalton's Note:

I found this recipe at The Joy of Soup website. It is very similar to Carrabba's Sausage and Lentil soup. It was so good I just had to share. I put the veggies all in the food processor and diced the fine. Everything was about the size of the lentil

• Total Time: 1 hrs 20 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 1 large carrot
• 2 stalks celery
• 1 large onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 lb hot Italian sausage
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2 cups dried lentils
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1 bay leaf

Directions:

1. Dice the first four ingredients and sauté them in a large pot with the oil. Sauté until tender.
2. Remove vegetables from the pan and add the Italian sausage, removed from the casing, to the pan. Brown then drain off fat.
3. Pour 8 cups for chicken broth, the vegetables back into the pot.
4. Add tomatoes and lentils.
5. Add remaining ingredients.
6. Simmer until the lentils are tender, 30-45 minutes.
7. Remove 1/3 of the soup and puree. then return it to the pot.
8. Correct the seasonings and remove bay leaf.

Reviews

[Bhujia]

I brought home a cup of the soup from Carrabbas to look over while eating and noticed that it had bacon in it, so I diced, cooked, drained and added a package of smoked bacon. I omitted extra salt and red pepper flakes because I used hot sausage and 1.5 cartons of chicken broth with salt and figured everyone could adjust theirs to taste. Everyone loved it! Also, I threw everything into the crockpot and let it cook on low for about 4 hours rather than cooking it on the stove top (I did brown and drain the sausage and bacon.) Will make this again and again, especially in the cold months.

[Chef #1145189]

AWESOME! My husband liked it so much he's talking about bringing the recipe to work to give to the guys to take home to their wives (he works on a construction site) AND sending a copy to his mother! We love the Carabba's version, and this is very close. I used chicken sausage, because that is what I had in the freezer, but other than that, followed the recipe exactly. This one is definitely going to be a regular at our house!

[Chicagoland Chef du Jour]

This is FABuolus! I halved the recipe and there was plenty for 4 hearty appetites. I did add more liquid cuz this is a thick soup. I omitted the fennel, since my hot Italian sausage contains fennel. I blended several ladles of the soup not 1/3. Terrific recipe Tammy Dalton, thanks a bunch for posting!