Rev: Hungarian Hot Sausage and Lentil "Stoup" (RR, CRTC)

[sweetpea]

This is from Rachael Ray's "cooking round the clock" cookbook (which has a thread all it's own actually!). I prepped all the ingredients earlier in the day while my little one was napping and it came together very quickly. I used turkey italian sausage, shredded my own carrots rather than buying them that way, used swiss chard for the first time in my life, omitted the mushrooms as i didn't have any, used the substitute for the smoked paprika, and fire roasted tomatoes.
Served it with the Cornmeal-Cheddar Muffins from the Jan. '05 CL...YUMMY all around! The "stoup" is very flavorful and is very much so a cross between a soup and a stew--lots of veggies and very little fat-can't wait for leftovers today!! I will try and get this recipe typed up this afternoon for all those that might be interested. Oh and fyi--my lentils needed alot longer to cook than the recipe stated--15 min. is not long enough for them to soften up IMO :)

[HUNGRY!]

Thank you! I would be very interested in the recipe, and to hear how the leftovers turn out.

[KateNH]

Thanks for the review, I had this marked to try, and plan to make it this weekend.

[sweetpea]

Here you go!

Hungarian Hot Sausage and Lentil "Stoup"
by Rachael Ray

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 pounds bulk hot italian sausage (i only used 3 sausages)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 portobello mushrooms, gills scraped out, chopped
1 cup shredded carrots (preshredded are available in produce section)
1 cup lentils
1 large starchy potato, peeled and chopped
salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
2 tsps hot smoked paprika or 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tsp sweet paprika and 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
3 stems fresh rosemary (i used some dry)
1 can (14 oz) finely diced tomatoes or chunky-style crushed tomatoes
6 cups chicken broth
4 cups kale or chard, shredded and chopped
Crusty pumpernickel bread, to pass at table
Butter, for bread

Heat a medium soup pot over medium-high heat. Add evoo and meat to the pot. Brown meat 2 to 3 minutes, then chop and add garlic, onions, and mushrooms. Cook a few minutes then add carrots, lentils, potatoes, salt, pepper, bay leaf, paprika and rosemary (rosemary leaves will fall off the stems as the soup cooks). Add tomatoes and broth and cover the pot. Raise heat to high to bring to a fast boil, then remove lid. Stir in kale, or chard and boil until the lentils are just tender, 15 minutes. Remove roseamry stems. Serve stoup in shallow bowls and pass pumpernickel bread and butter to dip and mop up the stoup.

[HUNGRY!]

Thanks!

[sweetpea]

Well, back to report on the leftovers of this "stoup"...it was still good but not as good the next night. The flavor of the chard seemed to be much more noticeable in the leftovers, which isn't necessarily a bad thing :)

[EllenL]

I loved this. It was, as RR would say, yum-mo! A deep flavor. I veganized it with veggie stock and Tofurky. Added chopped carrots and fresh spinach. I cooked the lentils first in a pot for about fifteen minutes before adding both pans together.
Used sweet potato instead of white.

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/ledan01/RRLentilandSausageStoup.jpg