One of my favorite things about colder weather is that it gives me an excuse to make my favorite kind of soup, a rich broth full of legumes, greens, vegetables and cured meat.
Every cuisine seems to have a soup like this: My recipe this week is a variation of Portuguese sausage and kale soup, although a strictly Portuguese version would be made with white beans instead of lentils and with linguica instead of kielbasa and would probably not contain cumin.
Traditional soup recipes that contain hearty greens like kale call for the greens to be fried with some pork product then cooked to death. I prefer to sauté the kale separately along with sausage and a little garlic then briefly simmer it in the soup at the end so the greens are still vibrantly colored and have a little texture.
Another little trick I like to use is to rinse the cooked lentils before I add them to the broth: If you skip this step, the soup will have a muddy texture and an unappetizing brownish color.
If you want this soup to be a little richer, feel free to shave Parmesan over the bowls when you ladle the soup and go ahead and drizzle a little herb oil as well.
Lentil Soup with Sausage and Kale
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
1 cup uncooked French lentils, rinsed
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, cut in medium dice
1 small carrot, peeled, cut in medium dice
1 small celery root, peeled, cut in medium dice
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
¼ cup dry white wine
1 quart chicken broth
1 teaspoon toasted ground cumin
1 teaspoon toasted ground coriander
1 cooked kielbasa, diced
1 bunch kale, washed, stemmed, torn
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions
Place the lentils in a small pot and add about 2½ cups cold water and a pinch of salt.
Bring to a simmer and cook until tender, about 40 minutes. Drain and quickly rinse.
Heat half the olive oil over low-medium heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery and a pinch of salt. Cook until tender and slightly colored, about 10 minutes. Add half the garlic and cook until softened but not colored, about 2 minutes.
Add the tomato paste and mix well into the vegetables. Fry the vegetable mixture for about 2 minutes. Add the white wine and reduce by half.
Add the chicken broth and the lentils and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the broth is slightly thickened and full flavored. Skim off any fat that comes to the surface.
Meanwhile, warm the remaining oil in a sauté pan. Add the diced sausage and cook until lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the kale and a splash of the soup liquid. Cook the kale until wilted, about 3 minutes.
Add the kale/sausage mix to the soup, bring to a simmer and cook 5 minutes. Add just seasoning and serve the soup with thick slices of buttered country bread.
