This is a soup I will probably put in my regular soup rotation. I like to make a big pot of soup every other week during the colder months, maybe once a month in the summer. Soup is good food, can contain lots of vegetables, can be vegetarian, is nourishing and filling, and is usually a lot of food for a little money. Almost anything can be turned into a soup. This recipe is a take on a really good sausage-lentil soup, with bachelor variations.
Recipe makes 8 to 10 servings of about 1-1/2 cups each. Prep time: 15 minutes. Cooking time: 1 hour.
Equipment: If you have a dutch oven, that will be all you really need. However, I use a skillet and a stock pot.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. fresh pork sausage of any type
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 cups dry lentils, any type
- 1 tsp. Dried basil
- 1/2 tsp. Ground sage
- 1 tsp. Fennel seeds
- 1 tsp. Cumin
- 1/2 tsp. Dried majoram
- 28 oz. can whole, peeled tomatoes
- 1 large can tomato juice, no salt added preferred
- 1 32 oz. container reduced sodium beef broth
- 2 cups water
Directions:
- In a large skillet (or dutch oven) brown the sausage. If using a link type sausage, brown them whole, then remove to cool, then cut into 1/2-inch slices.
- Add onions and garlic to the skillet and cook until tender. Add herbs, spice and salt and pepper. Stir together until heated through, then remove from heat.
- While the sausage mixture is cooking, pour tomatoes with juice into the stock pot (or into the dutch oven), squish them into bite-size pieces. Add in the tomato juice, beef broth, lentils and water over high heat. Add the sausage mixture to the pot and bring it to a boil. Cover and lower heat to a low simmer and let it cook for 30 to 45 minutes or until lentils are tender.
Diabetic Exchange Values
1.5 Starch; 2 vegetables; 1 lean meat; 0.5 fat.
Nutritional Information
Per cup serving: Calories 250; Fat 7 g.; Saturated Fat 2.4 g.; Cholesterol 17 mg.; Sodium 409 mg.; Carbohydrates 33 g.; Fiber 10 g.; Protein 15 g.
