Lentils with sausages, an easy recipe to get back to the routine.

Total: 1 h Diners: 6

I don’t know about you, but in cold days like the ones we are having and the ones we are expecting, what comforts me the most is a simple menu with a single dish and eaten with a spoon like these lentils with sausages. Then already, manias that has one, eat them in a bowl, because it retains heat better while I’m eating them and because it allows me to surround it with my hands to warm them.

Ingredients

. Dried Castilian lentils, 400 g Butcher’s red sausages, 250 g Ham, 150 g Extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons Carrots, 2 Celery, 2 sticks Garlic, 2 cloves Tomato, 1 Unsalted chicken stock, 1 liter Oregano, 1/4 teaspoon Thyme, 1/4 teaspoon Paprika, 1/2 teaspoon (sweet, spicy or mixture of both) Bay leaf, 2 leaves Salt Pepper Water, quantity needed Fresh parsley, optional

How to cook lentils with sausages

Depending on the type of water in which they are to be cooked, the lentils can be cooked by simply rinsing them under the tap -in soft water areas or when cooked with weak mineralized water- or they will need soaking and longer cooking time -in hard water areas-. The necessary soaking and cooking times are indicated on the package depending on the case.

Step 1

Peel the carrots, onion, celery, garlic cloves and tomato and cut them into mirepoix -half centimeter cubes-.

In a large pot, if possible cocotte type, heat the oil over medium heat and fry the onion with the carrot, celery and garlic.

Step 2

Add the chopped sausages and sauté them for a couple of minutes. If we see that they release a lot of fat, we remove a part, because with the oil that we have thrown at the beginning we have enough for the stew.

Add the diced ham, give a few turns and add the tomato, let it sauté for a couple of minutes and add the chicken broth.

Step 3

Rinse the lentils and add them to the pot along with the spices. If necessary, top up the liquid with water until it covers about four or five centimeters above the lentils.

Step 4

We cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil and, at that time, we lower the heat so that our lentils continue cooking to “chup chup” for about 45-50 minutes -soft water- or until they are tender.

Step 5

boncham iStockPhoto

When the lentils are tender, rectify the salt if necessary, remove the bay leaves and serve with some chopped fresh parsley on top. It does not matter if there are leftovers for the following day, because as it happens with the stews, it is almost better the next day. To heat them, it is best to heat them over very low heat.