This soup is versatile; you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand so long as you start with leeks or onions and a few garlic cloves. To make a vegetarian version, skip the sausages and add quinoa, beans, or lentils. This is your Sunday and your soup. Make it with what you have on hand … then serve with big pieces of toasted bread spread with good butter, and a hunk of Parmesan for grating.
Makes 10 servings
Preparation time: 45 to 70 minutes
Ingredients
- Olive oil, for the pot
- 3 cooked Italian sausages, your favorite kind, sliced
- 3 leeks (white and light-green parts), chopped and rinsed thoroughly
- 2 small carrots, chopped (unpeeled if organic)
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 big handfuls sturdy greens (kale, cabbage, or chard), chopped or torn
- 1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned
- 4 (or more) garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/2 cup green (French) or brown lentils, rinsed
- 8 cups vegetable or chicken broth (organic, if possible)
- Salt
- Vinegar, any type (optional)
- Red pepper flakes (optional)
Get out your big Sunday soup pot and heat it over medium-high heat, then drizzle in enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pot. Throw in the sausage (if using) and cook until nice and browned. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon.
Add the leeks to the pot and cook, stirring, until they have softened a bit, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, greens, tomatoes, and garlic. Stir for a few minutes until all the vegetables have gotten acquainted and are starting to soften. Add the lentils, broth, and sausages (if using). Let your soup simmer for 30 minutes while you read the Sunday paper.
Taste and adjust the seasonings–does it need salt? A splash of vinegar? A few hot pepper flakes? Make it taste perfect for you.
Reprinted from The Family Cooks by Laurie David. Copyright 2014 by Hybrid Nation Inc. By permission of Rodale Books. Available wherever books are sold.
