Stewed Lentils with Sausages

photo: Simply Recipes

Stewed Lentils with Sausages

 I love good comfort food, chicken noodle soup when your sick, meatloaf and mashed potatoes that remind me of being a kid, you know the classics. But the longer I live in Italy, the more I love Italian comfort food and wish I had been raised on passatelli in brodo, potatoes and cabbage mash or pasta norcina. Another classic Italian comfort food - stewed lentils with sausages. Lentils are very Italian and found in many dishes across the boot, but they are eaten most during the holidays. On New Year's Eve it is best to eat a few spoonfuls of stewed lentils with your cotechino to ensure fortune in the coming year! But the best lentils in Italy are from the tiny mountain top village of Castelluccio di Norcia on the Marche-Umbria border. The tiny greenish/brown legumes are not only known for their soft skin & creamy texture, but the beauty of the fields in May-June when the lentils are in bloom!

Stewed Lentils with Sausages
lenticchie in umido con salsicce

Serves 4

6 Tablspoons/80 ml Olive oil
1 carrot small, diced
1 onion small, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and left whole
2-3 leaves of sage
250 grams/a little over a cup of lentils left to soak in cold water for a few hours
4 sausages
200 ml or 1 cup of passed tomatoes (pomodoro passato) or pureed tomatoes
2-4 cups of stock (vegetable or chicken)
salt & pepper

In a heavy bottomed pot on low heat add olive oil and gently sweat the garlic, celery, carrot and onion with a crack of salt and pepper. Once the vegetables are soft, turn up the heat a bit adding the sausages. Cook the sausages on all sides just to get them started.

Add in the sage leaf (you can add or substitute any herbs you like). Drain the lentils, then add them to the pot along with the tomatoes. Pour about 2 cups of stock (or 400 ml) into the pot and bring up to a slow simmer.

Simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the lentils are tender, adding a little stock if it begins to look too thick.

To finish, adjust seasonings with salt and pepper, fish out the sage and garlic if you like.
Drizzle good extra virgin olive oil and serve with crunchy toasty bread.

Lentil Salad

photo: Andrea Wyner

 Everyone loves this dish - even if they don't think they like lentils. It light & fresh - perfect for summer!

Serves about 6

1 1/2 cups green lentils

1 seedless english cucumber

1 medium red onion

Handful of mint & parsley (cleaned & picked off the stem)

Juice of one lemon

Salt & pepper

1/2 of a yellow onion

2-3 cloves of garlic

Olive oil

In a pot, place lentils, 1/2 yellow onion & garlic cloves with skin removed. Cover lentils with water. Bring to a boil, reduce flame & simmer for 25-35 minutes until lentils are tender - BUT NOT MUSHY. It might be necessary to add a little more water during cooking process as lentils absorb the water.

When lentils are tender drain. Pick out onions & garlic, discard.

Peel cucumber, slice lengthwise & remove seeds. Dice into small pieces about the size of a lentil. Dice the red onion to the same size as well. Chop parsley & mint. When lentils are cool, combine with above ingredients.

Juice the lemon & combine with double the amount of olive oil (1 part lemon juice/2 parts olive oil) and dress salad. Season with salt & pepper.