I don’t know where I read about this recipe or what was the original name. I believe I read it in or got inspired by the book French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano. That was a great book but I honestly don’t remember. However, I do remember that the first time I discovered that book was the first time I discovered the delicious taste of leeks. It’s related to the onion family and I describe it as a super sized scallion.
Every winter I like to make this leek soup. The first time I made it, we fell in love with the mixtures of different tastes. Now, never judge a recipe or food by it’s picture. This leek soup almost never looks perfect. After all, it’s a mixture of different ingredients. But I promise, it’s a delicious mix.
Did Magdalene enjoy it? Yes and no. In the beginning, she judged the soup by the green leeks. But when she tasted it she really liked it. And I hope that you enjoy it too!
Ingredients:
1 leek stalk
1 carrot
32 oz. chicken broth
Brown or red lentils
Salt and pepper
Sweet Italian sausage
Directions:
- Bring three cups of water to a rapid boil. Pour two cups of lentils. You can pour more if you love lentils.
- Allow the lentils to become soft. You’ll know the lentils are getting soft when the water starts turning brown. Add the carrots in this step since they take long to get soft.
- After the water becomes brown, pour the chicken broth and wait for it to boil. Add salt and pepper for extra taste.
- Add the sausages to a pan. Make sure to turn often so they can fry evenly. As they gain a light brown color, cut them into small pieces or thick chunks; it’s a matter of preference. Let the sausage fry a little more. Now, add the sausage to the soup. An important tip is to cut the sausage after they have fried, not before. This will give a clean cut when slicing.
- For the leeks, you should strip the stalk by pulling the dark green leaves down. This is necessary to get rid of any dirt that’s in between the leaves. Keep stripping until you no longer see dirt. Roll the leaves and chop into small pieces. For the stem, you can leave as is and chop. A good tip is to use more of the stem and less of the leaves. The reason for this is that most of the freshness and tastes are in the stem as opposed to the leaf. You can even smell the difference while chopping. Add the chopped leek.
- Allow soup to boil for 10 minutes so the leek flavor can settle in. Then serve and enjoy!
