*Usually, this indicates a footnote, right? Well, this is a foot over head note because I think it's sort of important to read before following the recipe. So, really it should be ** because there are two points.
The first foot - what follows is something that I have made with success multiple times. However, it can be messed around with to be very different. Maybe you don't like so much garlic or are allergic to tomatoes (humpherumphseanieumph). Go ahead, alter it and own it. I did - one of the most useful lessons that Read ever taught me - don't have much ca-ching? Lentils go a looooooooooooong way! They can be wonderful little flavor absorbers which give texture and heft to an otherwise watery gruel.
The second foot - Do not be afraid of the germs. Go ahead and taste your food as you are making it. I don't add salt per se (although the andouille is riddled with the stuff I am certain), but that doesn't mean you don't. Even sans salt, there are flavors to be had and textures to strive for, yeah?
Okay, enough with my feet in the pot. Here's the friggin recipe already...
Ingredients:
- olive oil
- 1 tbsp white pepper
- 1 tsp herbs de provence
- 2 links andouille sausage: cut into 1/2" cubes
- 2 large cloves garlic: rough chopped
- 1 small vidalia onion: cut into 1/2" chunks
- 5 ribs celery: chopped into 1/4" slices across their grain
- 2 large carrots: peeled and cut into 1/2-1/4" discs
- 1 bag lentils: rinsed & drained
- 1 16 oz can of san marzano tomatoes
- 2 bottles pale beer (because if it tastes good to drink, it tastes good in the zuppa - so if (ick) Guinness is your thing, then maybe try that)
- water
- 2 small bunches of lacinato (aka dino) kale: cut into 1-2" sections across the grain
- 1 lemon: cut into quarters
- 4 cayenne peppers: tops cut off, otherwise unmolested
- branches of basil, parsley & thyme from the garden
- 1/2 cup spinach
Head - So, get all your ingredients ready to go and start heating up (I usually go for mid-range 3-4.5 outta 10 on our stupid glass top) a little splash of olive oil in a big stockpot. When you know it will give a little sizzle, chuck in the sausage and stir it around a little (thank you again Aunt Patty for our long-handled wooden spoons - I am convinced that soups always taste better when stirred with wooden spoons - hey, we all have our ridiculous beliefs. This is a fairly innocent one).
When the sausage starts sticking (don't worry here as there's enough liquid coming later to break up any scum that's stuck to the bottom), mix in the onions and celery. Get them going so everything is cooking and add in the pepper, herbs dp, the garlic and the carrots. Give this base a couple of minutes to really get hot.
Add in the liquids now - the beer and the tomatoes. Scratch up all that fatty flavor from the bottom of the pot. Add the lentils, kale and enough water so that all the solids are submerged with at least 1/2-1" of liquid covering em (the kale will float at the top for a few minutes, just ignore this rude behaviour, eventually it will drown). Get that puppy back up to a good simmer (sputtering, but not hard boiling).
Add in the lemon, cayenne's and garden herbs to flavor and let cook for 20 minutes. Lentils should still be firm, but edible. Turn off heat, pull out the lemon, cayenne's and fresh herbage. Add in the spinach and drizzle a little olive oil over the top. Move to a cool burner, cover and let sit until cool enough to comfortably pour into a bowl.
You can eat some now, but it's best after having cooled and melded in the fridge overnight. Just nuke some up for lunch the next day. Yummy accompaniments are a bit of grated Parmesan and crusty bread for mopping. A nice glass of booze never hurts either. Not a lush or anything, just sayin'
