Lentil Soup with Sausage and Pasta
From Italian Home Cooking by Julia Della Croce
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound brown lentils
- 10 cups chicken broth or water
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 links lean, sweet fennel-flavored Italian pork sausages
- 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 large cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 large celery stalk, including leaves, chopped
- 2 tsp. fresh thyme, minced, or 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 3 Tbsp. tomato paste
- One 16-ounce can plum tomatoes,peeled, seeded and chopped, liquid reserved
- 1/2 cup ditalini pasta
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 Tbsp. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Preparation
Step 1
Pick over and wash the lentils in cold water. Transfer them to an ample pot, cover with the broth or water, and add the bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce to a simmer. Cook over medium-low heat until half-cooked, 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, slip the casings off the sausages. In an ample skillet, warm the olive oil. Brown the sausage meat over medium heat until lightly colored all over, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a side dish and drain any excess fat from the pan, leaving 3 Tbsp. Add the garlic, onion, celery, and thyme to the pan and saute until the garlic is golden and the vegetables are softened and aromatic, about 5 minutes. Return the sausage to the pan. Dissolve the tomato paste in a little of the lentil broth and add it to the pan. Follow with the chopped tomatoes and their liquid. Simmer all together for 5 minutes.
Bring the lentils to a boil once again if they have cooled down. Transfer the skillet contents and the pasta to the pot with the boiling lentils. Simmer to marry the flavors, about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and allow the soup to rest until the pasta is fully cooked, about 4 more minutes. Discard the bay leaf, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.