Rachael Ray's Hungarian Sausage and Lentil Stoup

From Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals, this is a great hearty meal - thicker than a soup, thinner than a stew. The ingredients are very flexible. Try sweet sausage instead of hot, split peas instead of lentils, or broccoli cuts, chard or kale instead of spinach. (In fact, the original recipe calls for kale or chard, but I can't get the computer to recognize the measurements for either!) The two pot method can be used to create a long-simmered taste in very little time, or you can just make it all in one pot and simmer a little longer. It also freezes beautifully. Serve with a hearty bread for a complete meal.

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1⁄2 lbs  bulk hot Italian sausage
• 3  garlic cloves, chopped
• 1  medium onion, chopped
• 2  portabella mushrooms, gills scraped out, chopped
• 1  cup carrot, shredded
• 1  cup lentils
• 1  large  starchy potato, peeled and chopped
•  salt and pepper
• 1  bay leaf
• 2  teaspoons  smoked paprika (or substitute a mix of 2 teaspoons cumin, 1 teaspoon sweet paprika and 2 pinches cayenne pepper)
• 3  sprigs fresh rosemary, intact on stems
• 1 (14 ounce) can  chopped fire-roasted tomatoes or 1 (14 ounce) can  regular diced tomatoes
• 6  cups  chicken stock
• 1 (10 ounce) box frozen spinach, thawed and drained

Directions

1. In a medium sized pot, simmer lentils in chicken stock.
2. In a second pot, sauté sausage in olive oil.
3. Add garlic, onions and mushrooms to the sausage. Cook a few minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add carrots, lentils, potato, salt and pepper, bay leaf, paprika (or substitute mixture) and rosemary to sausage pot. Don't worry about the woody rosemary stems - the leaves will fall off as it cooks.
5. Add tomatoes to sausage pot. Bring to a good rolling boil and boil for 15 minutes.
6. Combine the two pots.
7. Wilt the greens in and remove the rosemary stems. Let sit 5 minutes off the heat before serving.