ok, maybe not ALL those things at the same time, but they are a few of the many elements that make winter enjoyable. yup, you heard me, i said enjoyable. I have been so quick to be a grumbler and complainer, unappreciative of the beauty and wonder to be found in the winter season, and i am doing my best to find the joy in it. I love sweaters and leggings. I love how quiet the snow transforms the air and everything lies so still and white and sparkly. I love twinkling lights and long van rides revealing white powder delicately landed on branches, their fingers extended in a canopy shape. I love soup much more in the winter. It is a blanket for my insides and reaches my soul. it really does.
May i share this soup recipe with you? This is my newest soup endeavor, and i am pleased to say my husband loved it so much and was so encouraging and complimentary of each bowl he devoured [that would be 4 bowls total] and he is my most important eater [in my humble opinion:)] if he is pleased, i am one happy camper..
This is a hearty lentil soup, full of flavor and savory heaven, It is full of texture and just the right amount of spice and zip. It is creamy, with the yellow lentils being cooked down to perfection [no pureeing needed] and the warmth of sausage, aromatic veggies, and oh, the roasted garlic? It travels throughout the soup and hugs everything in its path. So yum. [i'm sorry, sometimes food inspires poetry in my la la land brain...
Let's have a crack at it shall we? Just give a bit of time for the roasted garlic, and it will all come together beautifully.
you'll need:
3 tablespoons roasted garlic-see below for instructions
3 tablespoons roasted garlic-see below for instructions
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion chopped
2 long carrots chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
1 lb italian sausage
4 cups chicken stock plus 2 cups water
1 1/2 cups yellow dhal lentils
1/2 can diced tomatoes with green chili [about 5 oz]
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp basil
cracked black pepper
preheat oven to 450 degrees. take 2 whole garlic clusters and cut tipped part off so cloves are exposed. wrap in a piece of tinfoil drizzled with a bit of olive oil and place in oven for about 45 minutes.
Brown sausage in a pan. Drain grease, and throw crumpled sausage in large soup pot.
In same pan, drop in butter and saute onion, carrot, and celery. Toss in browned sausage and pour in chicken stock. Next comes yellow dhal [lentils]. Bring everything to a boil. Skim off opaque foam off top that is released from the lentils. Add spices and diced tomatoes.
Cover pot on simmer and cook for a little longer, or until your roasted garlic is ready.
When garlic is done, pull out of oven and allow to cool. Remove gently from outer shell and they should shimmy out easily. Take 4-5 cloves and mash into a paste.
Take roasted garlic paste and add to the dhal soup. Stir in and give it a leeetle more time to get that added flavor.
Ok, you should be done! Your lentils should be cooked down to a thick stew like consistency. The sausage and veggies are soft and perfectly chewable:) add water if you want to thin or broth it up a bit.
Enjoy a hearty bowl while wearing your thickest socks.
**with extra roasted garlic cloves, i created a roasted garlic butter that was used on Thanksgiving day to go with the rolls and mashed potatoes. It also was a hit and it is a zip to make. Otherwise, I like to use the whole cloves for flatbread pizza, or for later use:) to make butter just use 3-4 cloves mashed into a paste and added to half a stick of salted butter at room temp and mixed and whipped and creamed up. easy peasy:)
Cover pot on simmer and cook for a little longer, or until your roasted garlic is ready.
When garlic is done, pull out of oven and allow to cool. Remove gently from outer shell and they should shimmy out easily. Take 4-5 cloves and mash into a paste.
Take roasted garlic paste and add to the dhal soup. Stir in and give it a leeetle more time to get that added flavor.
Ok, you should be done! Your lentils should be cooked down to a thick stew like consistency. The sausage and veggies are soft and perfectly chewable:) add water if you want to thin or broth it up a bit.
Enjoy a hearty bowl while wearing your thickest socks.
**with extra roasted garlic cloves, i created a roasted garlic butter that was used on Thanksgiving day to go with the rolls and mashed potatoes. It also was a hit and it is a zip to make. Otherwise, I like to use the whole cloves for flatbread pizza, or for later use:) to make butter just use 3-4 cloves mashed into a paste and added to half a stick of salted butter at room temp and mixed and whipped and creamed up. easy peasy:)
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