Sunday Soup Day: Lentil soup with Italian chicken sausage

Sundays are big days in my family. One of the reasons is because of the tradition that I've developed through Kevin Eats - Soup Day. I was out of town this weekend and I broke the streak of preparing elaborate soups for family and friends, so I went for a new recipe today and created another spectacular soup. There won't be a "case of the Mondays" today after ingesting this fantastic lentil soup with Italian chicken sausage. Mmmm.

Since I started this blog, I've been able to experiment with many different ethnic dishes. I've been drawn most to new Italian recipes. I was under the impression that Italian was synonymous with pasta, but it's not. I've dug deep and found many other traditional Italian meals and dishes, particularly those using beans and the combination of lentils and sausage has been very intriguing to me. Each new recipe introduces my taste buds to something unexpected. Using all organic ingredients today, not only did I enjoy the taste, but I felt super "green" in doing so.

Here's how it's done:

1. Heat two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken sausage and cook until browned, stirring occasionally. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to bowl and set aside.

2. Add onion, carrots, parsnips, celery, garlic and Italian seasoning blend to drippings in the pot and add one more tablespoon of olive oil. Cook until the onion is translucent (the combination of vegetables and seasoning blend makes your kitchen smell wonderful).

3. Add lentils and stir to coat.

4. Add three quarts chicken broth and bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium and simmer until lentils are tender.

5. Add sausage to soup and simmer for 10 minutes.

6. Stir in spinach and cook until it's wilted (about three minutes).

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
24-ounces fully cooked chicken sausage, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large onion, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
3 medium parsnips, chopped
4 medium celery stalks, chopped
2 1/2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning blend
8-ounces black lentils
8-ounces green/brown lentils
3 quarts organic chicken broth
5-ounces baby spinach leaves

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