Soup is perfect comfort food especially when it is cold and damp outside and you are feeling chilled to the bone and need to warm up your core.
I signed up at work to bring lentil soup to our annual fund raiser. I had recently cooked a pot of pinto beans for chili and had about 3 cups left so I decided to add that to the mix. When I looked at it, I thought it looked a little out of balance so I added Cannellini beans, a type of white bean. It all came together perfectly.
Serves 8
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup dried lentils
3 cups cooked pinto beans
1 (15 ounce) can Cannellini beans
32 ounces beef broth
mirepoix- 1 large onion, diced, 2 carrots, diced, 2 stalks celery, diced
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small green pepper, diced
2 bay leaves
1 pound smoked turkey sausage
4-6 ounces ground pork sausage, cooked
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions:
Heat oil in large sauté pan, add mirpoix ingredients and green pepper and cook until softened.
Add garlic and cook until fragrant.
Pour in broth, add lentils and bay leaves. Bring to a low boil and cook for 20 minutes.
Add pinto beans and cannellini beans and continue to cook until lentils are tender.
Add sausages and cook until thickened into a rich stew about 45 minutes on medium heat.
Remove bay leaves and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Cooking Tips:
I used a smoked turkey sausage but any sausage will work
The key to a rich bean soup is to cook it until the broth thickens.