Lentil Soup with Sausage, Chard, and Garlic

There is just something so wonderful about a piping hot bowl of soup in the winter. I feel like I've really missed out on soup this past month, which is a shame because it's my very favorite thing. I've been eyeing this soup on Smitten Kitchen since it was first posted, and am so excited that I got around to making it. It. Was. So. Good. Simple, yet incredibly flavorful, this soup is a winner. It was also my first time trying swiss chard, and I really liked it. It's hearty like kale, though the flavor is more mild.

I agree with Deb about leftover greens in soup, and only added mine to the bowl instead of the pot, and let the hot soup wilt the greens. Leftover greens = blech. Add them when you need them, and they'll always be fresh! NUM!

Lentil Soup with Sausage, Chard, and Garlic

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil, divided

2 large links of sweet Italian sausage, casings removed

1 medium onion, diced

2 medium carrots, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

4 cloves garlic, sliced (save half for later in the recipe)

Salt, to taste

A pinch of crushed red pepper

1 cup brown lentils, sorted and rinsed

1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes

6 cups water

Freshly ground black pepper

3-4 cups Swiss chard, shredded or thinly ribboned (you could also use kale)

Grated cheese to finish (she used Pecorino Romano, I used an Italian blend I had in the fridge..Num!)

Directions

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil (enough to coat bottom of pot) in a large pot on medium heat. When hot, add the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon until it starts to brown, about five minutes. Add the onion, celery, carrots, first two garlic cloves, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cook with the sausage until the vegetables soften a bit, another 5 minutes. Add the lentils, bay leaves, tomatoes, water (6 cups is, conveniently, 2 empty 28-ounce cans, so you can get any tomato pulp you missed), more salt and black pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook until the lentils are tender, about 40 minutes.

When the lentils are cooked, add the chard and cook until the leaves are tender, just a few minutes more. Discard the bay leaves.

To finish, divide soup among bowls, then add the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and 2 garlic cloves to a small skillet and heat over medium until the garlic softens and hisses. Drizzle this over soup bowls, and top with cheese.

Recipe source: adapted from Smitten Kitchen who adapted it from this book.