I don’t make anything twice anymore. Even when we all LOVE a dish, if I have blogged about it, I move on to another of the thousands of recipes I’ve accumulated. There is one exception, though…Nestle’s Tollhouse cookies. I can make those with my eyes closed, so after a particularly unpopular string of recipes, I will whip a batch up to pacify the grouchy family. So I think it’s a bad sign when Bill asks me if I’m blogging about a dish, just to ensure I WON’T make it again. That’s what he said about this lentil soup.
Well, at least they all tried this…”OK” was the best review. I, on the other hand, was happy to eat it for dinner four nights in a row….it just got better and better. Note that you can make this vegetarian by using vegetable broth and eliminating the sausage.
Lentil and Sausage Soup…adapted from Ina Garten
1 pound French green lentils
3 large yellow onions (about 4 cups),chopped
2 leeks, white part only, cleaned and chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt (use less if your broth is salty)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste I used about 1 teaspoon)
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon ground cumin
8 stalks of celery (about 3 cups), chopped
4-6 carrots (about 3 cups), chopped
3 quarts chicken stock
1/4 cup tomato paste
1-1 1/2 pounds mild Italian sausage links, sliced and browned
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Parmesan, to garnish, optional
Cover the lentils with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drain.
In a large stock pot, saute the onions, leeks and garlic in olive oil. Add salt, pepper, thyme and cumin and cook till onions are soft. Add carrots and celery and cook till almost tender. Add stock, tomato paste, lentils and sausage and simmer for about an hour.
Check seasonings and add red wine vinegar. Serve hot with a drizzle of olive oil and grated Parmesan if desired.
{ 66 comments… read them below or add one }
I believe that this would get better and better! Too bad about the rest of your troop. I would have been happy to help you out. Love lentils, especially lentil soup.
I have never had lentil soup but this does look like a hearty blend of some great ingredients. By what you have written, time does the trick for making this more delicious. I really am enjoying all the wonderful variety of soup posts, so I am glad you posted this unique recipe.
Funny you should mention making something the second time around-that is a hard request to comply with when you are a blogger!
Have a great day Liz!
On my journey of diet I found this is by far the best of all soups to eat for your heart and health, lentils rule this is a great recipe to share thanks love it!
On my journey of diet I found this is by far the best of all soups to eat for your heart and health, lentils rule this is a great recipe to share thanks love it!
So healthy and full of iron – I adore anything that improves with age, Liz! Fabulous.
I love trying new recipes too…keeps it interesting. Such a hearty soup!
My family is usually lukewarm about lentils, too. I, on the other hand, love them. This sounds like the kind of soup I’d get to eat all by myself, too. I don’t think I’d mind.
Wow Lizzy we must be on the same wavelength.. I just made a lentil and sausage curry yesterday for my mother. I am going to post it in the next few days. How cool to be cooking with the same main ingredients.
I know I would love this soup…beautiful job. 
PS.. love the soup bowls and you have an award at my blog today.
I love lentils dear Lizzy every time of the year some people thinks in it only in fall/winter but eat in summer too, this look amazing!!! gloria
Did you you know? you have a lot of wonderful savoy dishes (lol) Im kidding you know!!
I would love to try your soup! Sorry the rest of the family wasn’t crazy about it. I think it’s an awesome idea to make something especially for you, you/we deserve it!
Our families would be exactly the same. I’d be all over this soup and would get groans of dismay from the others in the house. Odd how that happens. I was raised on lentils, though, so I’ve always loved them. I think this looks fantastic.
Una receta deliciosa y sana! Felicidades. La haré.
Saludos desde España.
Haven’t tried lentils before though I’ve seen that in the wet market . Grouchy bears ;D aside , this soup looks yummy to me but then I would love any soup now
It’s a bit cold in this side of the world 
Besides the yummy soup , I love that gorgeous casserole dish hahaha
Well, at least you liked it
. You win some, you lose some. Good idea to make the family cookies afterwards 
.
I love lentils…My grandmother always made lentil soup and it was one of my favorites! Love the way yours looks with the addition of the sausage. UMMMM!
How interesting: you made it, blogged it, and the recipe went in the pile with other never to be made again?! My husband wouldn’t like that…:) We have over a hundred recipes in our “arsenal” that came from our families. On the other hand, a new recipe may live here, or may be just one time experiment. Your lentil soup would be a keeper, we love lentils, all kinds of it. Great post!
as a vegetarian I love lentils, I had it for lunch today – made my favourite lentil pate
The most amazing taste ever. I just cook orange lentils in water with garlic and celery leaves and spices, and then take it out of the water and mash it with a stick mixer and when it cools down a bit I add mayonnaise and voila 
It’s my fave!
I just have lentil soup for my first time,not long ago,and i like it,it’s different with my asian soup,but I will try again,this one looks more hearty and colorful and Yum.
Ridwan
I love lentils and make them frequently. I usually toss in some tomatoes and green pepper. I have never added cumin though, I am going to have to try that. Great soup and I love those little crocks, I need some of those.
love hearing about the verdicts of your dishes
this looks awesome!
Liz, you have just made me crave lentils so much I will cook them tomorrow. Probably not with sausages, but who knows… Your soup sounds and looks so delicious I wonder why your family wasn’t more enthusiastic!
By the way I cannot believe you make most recipes only once! It’s incredible
Call it something macho!
I will definitely go for this lentil soup but with the option you have given, that vegetarian version.
Thank you for I am really running out of ideas of what to cook for myself with the change I did in becoming a vegetarian some time back. I good one with my fav white rice.
This looks like a delicious soup for winter. I love how soup gets better after it sits for a day or two. Thanks for visiting my blog and it was so nice to meet you!
Haha, sorry about Bill’s comment! To me, this looks fantastic, but I know my wife would be siding with your family. I love lentils to death, though. Looks delicious!
lentil soup is the best during the winter! I make one with prosciutto, I love that yours uses sausage, I’ll have to try this out next time! (and I never get sick of nestle tollhouse cookies either.. I swear they are the best chocolate chip cookies)
I know that you mean about never making things twice.. its hard to when you are a food blogger!! This soup looks amazzzzzing… you know how much I love lentil soup!
Such a comforting soup and it looks so delicious!
I love your additions to Ina’s recipe. I saw her make this before and I knew I wanted to try it. I love your dishes!
I love how hearty and comforting this soup looks, Liz! Another fantastic recipe.
I love the combination of lentils and sausages, so I would have no problem eating this soup several nights in a row!
I know what you mean about not making the same recipe twice–I’ve thought about blogging less so I have time to revisit my favorites!
This sounds delicious and a recipe by Ina is a good sign that it is going to be amazing!
I know what you mean about never making things twice! This soup looks delicious – any soup with sausage is pretty much guaranteed to be a hit with me!
Liz-This soup sounds and looks delicious. Lentils, beans, whatever. I love a hearty soup, that gets better and better.
ps Your soup bowls are beautiful!!
Now will you share with me?
Such a unique recipe and great way to use up items in the fridge – looking forward to making this for my brother and dad perhaps
Thank you!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru @ Go Bake Yourself
I knew I have been saving my bag of lentils for something spectacular
Like this! Yum!
I find myself rarely making the same recipe twice. I guess blogging will do that.
I love lentil soup! Like serious love, used to eat it every day for lunch. I can imagine that my handsome man wouldn’t like lentils all that much…more for us!
Well, this sings to me. I love all soups, all sausage soups, all lentil soups. Is it really 3 quarts of chicken broth?
I would have traded you some of the chocolate bark for the soup, it would have saved me from eating it all. That’s funny you had to eat it all yourself. There are somethings I don’t make for that reason, I would have to eat it all myself and I sure don’t need to be eating that much, lol. Hope you are having a great week Lizzy.
-Gina-
This looks SO COMFORTING. It’s freezing here and I’d love a bowl of that!
I love lentil soup! I am like you in that I rarely if ever repeat a recipe. It drives my wife crazy as there are some that she would like to have again – but I always tweak it a little different each time
Ohhh Lizzy, a comforting and delicious soup like this is what I need in this cold weather! Can you share a bowl with me?
My Sister is addicted to Lentil Soup – I am definitely going to have to pass this along to her!
I think I would love that soup. I don’t know what the rest of your family would have to complain about
, Miriam@Meatless Meals For Meat Eaters
Delicious soup! I don’t usually think to add sausage in a soup, but it is so yummy!
ohh, is a very good idea for remedy the italian could of this day
)
I think every person have a recept that can make it infinite way
so is a reallyu special recipt..
Heh, I’m the same these days – I don’t blog about everything I make, but rare is the day when I make the same thing that I’ve eaten already within the last few months!
This is a great looking soup – so hearty and warming. I could even sit outside on my balcony in the snow right now and eat this and probably not feel cold (much)
Funny what Bill asked. The good news is that if they don’t like it, that means more for you. I had lentils today for lunch, absolutely love them.
Good recipe. I can’t wait to try this one.
LOL, I love his oblique way of saying he didn’t like it, asking if you were going to blog about it. But this is my kind of soup, I would totally love this!
I don’t know about your family but this soup bowl is inviting me.
LOL @ “are you blogging about this?”! Sounds like something my husband would ask
I like the sound of this soup… but then again, I love all soups! Thanks for the recipe, Lizzy!
I have had lentils once, and they weren’t my favorite. But they were just as a side dish. The idea of mixing them with other things in a stew sounds so much more appealing!
Dear Lizzy, I understand! There are so many flavors running through a foodies mind that there is not enough time in life to make a recipe twice!!
I do love lentils they are a favorite of mine. I would very much enjoy this soup also. Blessings my dear, Catherine xo
lentils are an acquired taste…i never used to like them…maybe thats why your family said this was just ok? However I think this recipe sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing
I have the worst cold in the world right now, and very hot soups have been my go to. It doesn’t always have to be Bubbie’s chicken soup. I love lentils, so this is on the menu – looks so warm, comforting and delicious!
Lol. I’ve been meaning to write about the ‘nothing more than once’ thing. As much as I explore new things though I do make certain things routinely and this Ina soup is one of them. And yes, it gets WAY better after a day or two. Thanks for the reminder that it is time to make this one again. For me, BETTER than ok.
I am laughing out loud at your husband’s comments! “Aren’t making it again, are ya’?” Equatable to my husband’s “Yeah, it is OK.” There must be a special spot in heaven for food bloggers’ significant others.
GAH. This is a perfect thing for me to try.
Blasted midterms… Maybe in a few weeks.
I don’t understand what’s not to like in this soup!! Lentils, herbs … and SAUSAGE. A keeper, I say. Though the only thing I repeat that I’ve blogged is a tomato soup, aren’t we bloggers crazy???
I need to try this soup! I’ve had a note to myself to make it for a while now. My family would probably love it.
I’m totally laughing at your husband’s reaction. I repeat recipes all the time over here though. I usually put at least one or two family favorites on the menu each week. I’m picky like that though. I like to know for SURE that I’ll love at least a couple meals each week.
I love lentil soup in the wintertime. You never know, your husband might change his mind one of these days!
I could really use a bowl of this right now. Looks fabulous!
Feel in love with this soup last year! Before then I didn’t even know what lentils were. ><
I would be delighted to eat this 4 days in a row – it looks amazing!