Lentil Soup with Spicy Sausage

This is a delicious one pot meal for winter. It makes A LOT of hearty soup and keeps wonderfully in the refrigerator so you can enjoy leftovers all week long as the snow falls outside. If you cannot finish the entire pot in your first sitting (and unless you have 8 friends to help you, or that many stomachs you won't ) make sure to place the spinach in each individual bowl instead of in the entire pot or the leaves will wilt too much.


Lentil Soup with Spicy Sausage
Adapted from Bon Appetit

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound hot turkey sausage
1 large onion, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled, chopped
2 large parsnips, peeled, chopped
2 large celery stalks, chopped
2 1/2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning blend (or a combination of any suitable dried herbs you have on hand: sage, oregano, basil)
1 pound lentils
3 quarts low-salt chicken broth
1 5 ounce package spinach leaves

Heat oil in dutch oven over medium high heat. Remove sausage from casings in small bits and cook until browned, stirring occasionally. Add onion, carrots, parsnips, celery and herbs. Cook until onion is translucent and vegetables begin to soften, stirring often. Add lentils; stir to coat. Add broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

If serving entire soup immediately, add spinach to dutch oven and stir in before ladling into bowl. If not, add spinach to each bowl and stir in to each serving.

Eat and enjoy!