Lentil veggie soup with chicken sausage

I am not the biggest fan of fennel. I thought for years that I didn't like sausage, and to this day it is still not my favorite, but it's mostly because of the fennel seeds that are often included. Occasionally I will try fennel-y things again, just in case my tastes have changed. Still don't love fennel - but despite the inclusion of sausage (and therefore fennel) in this soup, I did enjoy it a lot. Easy to make this one vegetarian/vegan by excluding the sausage (yay!) and perhaps adding some mushrooms for earthiness and flavor. Also: hooray for the first fall-type day in North Texas!

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Adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s Lentil Soup with Sausage, Chard and Garlic. Serves 6.

• 1/2 cup olive oil, divided

• 2 links sweet Italian chicken sausage, casings removed

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 2 celery stalks, diced

• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

• 4 cloves garlic, sliced, divided

• Salt

• Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

• 1 cup lentils, sorted and rinsed (I used French, brown works)

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

• 6 cups water

• Freshly ground pepper

• 3 to 4 cups shredded Swiss chard or kale

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil (enough to coat bottom of pot) in a large pot over medium heat. 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 optional red pepper flakes. Cook with the sausage until the vegetables soften a bit, another 5 minutes.

Add the lentils, bay leaves, tomatoes, water, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook until the lentils are tender, about 40 minutes. Add more water as necessary if the soup gets too thick.

Add the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and 2 garlic cloves to a small skillet and heat over medium until the garlic softens.

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, ladle soup into bowls and drizzle with garlic oil. Serve.

#tomatoes #healthy #lentils #sausage