Sausage and Lentil Soup ~ Robust and hearty, lentils, kale, sausage, and mushrooms in a drinkable broth made aromatic from fennel and oregano.I love food. I am a home cook. I am a food blogger or the fancy term we like to use is a recipe developer. I am not a professional chef. I have not been to culinary school. I have never worked in the back of the house (at a restaurant, meaning in the kitchen), unless we count fast food, and WE DO NOT COUNT FAST FOOD. 🙂
My skills in the kitchen are from hours and hours of watching my grandmothers and my stepmom. My skills came from starting to cook at age 11. My skills were enhanced from reading cookbooks like the latest best seller. My skills were honed deeper by watching endless hours of cooking programs on TV. And then there’s the passion. It’s my creative outlet. I mean do not give me paint brush, a musical instrument or ask me to sing, you will regret that. But cooking (and writing, photography), that is where my creative expression and passion comes out.
My palate grew, ironically, after I had gastric bypass. I had to walk away from all the foods that I consumed that led to my morbid obesity. I had no choice but to become acquainted with vegetables I had never heard of. I was forced to learn to like leaner meats (yes, I am aware that there is sausage in this recipe, which is by no means a lean meat-ha!) I became more adventurous in the kitchen due to my loving food–the wrong kinds of food.
But despite all this, there is so much I still don’t know about food. There are so many foods I have yet to try, from spices to seafood and everything in between. My blog is “The Complete Savorist” so as my name implies, I savor all foods completely. But this isn’t true. It’s not possible. But I want to, or die trying, the world’s food are vast. But whatever foods I am eating, I do want to savor them completely.
My blog is about my adventures in the kitchen (and the occasional misadventure). I want to explore the world’s cuisine. I try to eat healthy, but I do indulge from time to time (check out the pasta/noodle, Italian, and the desserts categories). I want to learn and grow as a home cook. So I’ve decided from time to time, I want to pick an ingredient I am mostly (or wholly) unfamiliar with and learn about it, cook with it. This is the first post having such an adventure. I started with something easy. Fennel seed. It’s in my spice cupboard. Not really sure when I purchased it. But I never use fennel in anything. I’ve had raw fennel in salads and enjoy it. But the seeds, they just take up prime real estate in my tiny spice cabinet.
Thus this Sausage and Lentil Soup was born. Italian sausage already has fennel, so what happens when I add more? Well, let me tell you, when I added more, it was delicious. I played with this soup and am loving the results. I used some ingredients I was already familiar with, kale, sausage, lentils and played with fennel as my main seasoning/spice. I made a large pot of this, as I have still yet to figure out how to cook small, but I enjoyed eating it for days.

Sausage and Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 1-16 oz pkg Italian sausage; casings removed.
- 1 medium onion; diced
- 2 celery ribs; diced
- 1/2 cup carrots , grated or chopped matchsticks
- 8 oz . mushrooms; chopped
- 1 1/2 cup lentils; picked , rinsed, and drained
- 10 cups water/broth or some combination thereof
- 4 cloves garlic; minced/grated
- 3 tbsp . red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp . fennel seed; ground with mortar and pestle
- 1 tsp . oregano
- 1/4 tsp . salt; +/- to taste
- 1/4 tsp . pepper; +/- to taste
- 1 bunch kale; de-stemmed and torn
- Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
-
In a large pot or Dutch/French oven, brown the sausage crumbles.
-
Once cooked, drain the rendered fat and set the sausage aside.
-
Add olive oil if needed to the pot, and sauté the garlic, onions, celery, carrots and mushrooms on medium high heat. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until veggies begin to soften.
-
Add the fennel seed to a mortar and pestle (or a zip close bag) and crush the seeds.
-
Add the salt, pepper, fennel, and oregano; stir well.
-
Once they bloom or become fragrant, add the lentils, mix well.
-
Pour the water/broth in and mix well. Return the sausage to the pot and add the vinegar.
-
Bring to a boil and reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender.
-
Once the lentils are cooked, add the kale pieces to the soup, cook for 2 minutes and serve.
I have learned about fennel seed while making Sausage and Lentil Soup. What spices do you have hanging out in your spice cabinet that you never touch?
40 Comments
Nutmeg Nanny
December 15, 2014 at 6:52 amLentil soup is great for the winter. It’s hearty, flavorful and totally delicious!
Michelle
December 15, 2014 at 9:25 amThank you NN, I agree, perfect for winter.
christine
December 15, 2014 at 6:54 amI love using sausage in soups. This looks soul warming!
Michelle
December 15, 2014 at 9:25 amThank you Christine.
The Food Hunter
December 15, 2014 at 7:55 amI really wish we were neighbors!
Michelle
December 15, 2014 at 9:26 amOh me too! Although, I’d get fatter! 🙂
Sharon @ What The Fork Food Blog
December 15, 2014 at 8:44 amSounds like the perfect cold weather soup 🙂
Michelle
December 15, 2014 at 9:26 amThank you Sharon, it really does warm you up.
heather @french press
December 15, 2014 at 8:52 amthis sounds like the perfect fall/winter meal!
Michelle
December 15, 2014 at 9:26 amThank you Heather!
lizzy
December 15, 2014 at 9:32 amWhat an awesome comfort food recipe for winter!!
Michelle
December 15, 2014 at 10:21 amThank you Lizzy!
Meagan @ A Zesty Bite
December 15, 2014 at 11:31 amI would love a big bowl of this for lunch.
Michelle
December 15, 2014 at 12:07 pmCrusty bread would make that lunch perfect.
Liz
December 15, 2014 at 12:01 pmYour soup sounds terrific! My hubby does not like raw or cooked fennel, but I can get away with fennel seed 🙂
Michelle
December 15, 2014 at 12:06 pmI’ve not tried the cooked fennel yet, but so far so good with fennel raw and in seed form. Thank you for stopping by.
Faith (An Edible Mosaic)
December 15, 2014 at 12:24 pmI love this – healthy comfort food at its best! Great idea to up the fennel flavor, I bet it perfectly enhances the soup.
Michelle
December 15, 2014 at 12:28 pmThank you Faith, I was really pleased with the fennel, which I have always been afraid of because it’s likeness to black licorice taste.
Kelly @ TastingPage
December 15, 2014 at 1:17 pmWhat a great idea to explore new and different flavors. I’ve never used fennel seed so thanks for this. Looks like a wonderful recipe!
Michelle
December 15, 2014 at 2:28 pmThank you Kelly, the seeds were a fun thing to work with. I am looking to experimenting with them further.
Melissa
December 15, 2014 at 2:43 pmOne of my favorite things about winter is getting to make soups. I can’t wait to try.
Michelle
December 15, 2014 at 2:47 pmHope you enjoy it Melissa! Thanks for stopping by.
Healing Tomato
December 15, 2014 at 5:52 pmMichelle, with every recipe you post, you make me want to become a Meat eater! Your recipe here is delicious and I love your style.
Michelle
December 15, 2014 at 5:59 pmThank you HT! But this is easily vegetarian. But oh that sausage!!!
Cate O'Malley
December 15, 2014 at 7:21 pmThis looks like just what we need to offset the storm in the forecast for this weekend – yum!
Michelle
December 16, 2014 at 1:27 amThank you Cate, luckily no storms in our forecast, just freezing weather.
Jen @ Yummy Healthy Easy
December 16, 2014 at 12:12 amWhat an amazing soup! This is definitely a soup we would love in my house! My mom had gastric bypass and wow, do you have to change your eating habits! I commend you for doing such a great job! Yummy recipe!
Michelle
December 16, 2014 at 1:22 amThank you Jen. I try to stick to the diet, but I do allow myself some “unapproved” items from time to time, but that actually helps keep me on track.
Kristen
December 16, 2014 at 5:48 amThat is pure comfort food to me. I love the addition of the beautiful kale. I am a recent kale convert and I love it in everything!!
Michelle
December 16, 2014 at 10:12 amWelcome to the kale club. I am addicted to it. I sub it for almost every green I need.
Dan from Platter Talk
December 16, 2014 at 1:45 pmLovin’ this beautiful bowl of goodness!!
Michelle
December 16, 2014 at 2:03 pmThank you Dan!
Susie Gall
December 22, 2014 at 1:56 pmThis is a beautiful soup – sounds absolutely perfect!
Michelle
December 22, 2014 at 7:56 pmThank you Susie.
Linda (Meal Planning Maven)
December 23, 2014 at 10:18 amLooks so hearty and tummy-warming! Feel betters soon!
Michelle
December 23, 2014 at 10:49 amThank you Linda…Whatever this is, it’s not abating. It’s hanging on.
Patty Haxton Anderson
December 23, 2014 at 11:12 amThis bowl of soup not only looks gorgeous and brightly colored but it sounds amazing from all of the ingredients. In other words, this recipe rocks!
Michelle
December 23, 2014 at 8:14 pmThank you Patty. Coming from you, that means a lot.
Cara
January 6, 2015 at 9:40 pmOh, dear, i MUST make that soup. I wonder if I really need to finish up the soup in the freezer first? Hubby and boys wont eat lentils . . . but I can make it and keep it in the freezer for me!
I dont have a mortar and pestle – do you think whole seeds would be ok?
Michelle
January 7, 2015 at 2:00 amI hope you enjoy it. I ate it for days. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle you can put them in a ziplock and use a heavy bottom glass, rolling pin, meat tenderizer, etc to break them up…however, leaving them whole would be just fine. Fennel was new to me, so I ground them up to avoid having a large seed in a bite. But I enjoyed the fennel, so I’d have no problem leaving them whole, might even add a bit more.