Just An Idea For Something To Do With Deer Or Duck Sausage

[rps]

Hearty Sausage and Lentils Soup

Everyone likes a good soup, especially on the chilliest day of the year, so far. Last night Nancy suggested a soup for today and volunteered to make bread. As I try to avoid being a fool, I said, "great."

Ingredients

1 pound bratwurst or kielbasa, cut in half lengthways and cut into 1/4 inch slices (Deer suasage and duck sausage work great too!)

1 large yellow onion diced

1 leek, cut in half lengthways and sliced in 1/4 inch rings

2 medium carrots, diced

2 stalks of celery diced

1 jalapeno, seeded and pithed and minced (alternative: a pinch crushed red peppers)

3 cloves of garlic minced

1/4 cup drained oil packed sun dried tomatoes, chopped

1 can diced tomatoes

1/4 cup dried wild mushrooms, broken into small pieces

8 ounces green lentils

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 cup dry white wine

2 quarts chicken broth

optional: 6 ounces fresh baby spinach, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil from the oil packed sun dried tomatoes

Method

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees.

Place the lentils and dried mushrooms in the dutch oven. Add the pepper, thyme, and the can of diced tomatoes with juice.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil then add the sausage. Cook until the cut edges of the sausage begin to brow.

Using a slotted spoon remove the sausage to the dutch oven. Mix well.

Add the onions, leeks, and jalapeno to the residue oil in the skillet. Saute for 5 minutes. Add thecelery, carrots, salt, and cumin. Mix well and continue to saute until the onions are translucent.

Add the sun dried tomatoes and the garlic. Saute and mix well until carrots begin to soften.

Add the white wine to the skillet and use a wooden spoon to scrape all fond from the bottom of the skillet. Add a pint of the chicken broth and increase the heat to high. Bring the mixture to a boil and add that mix to the dutch oven. Mix well.

Add the remainder of the stock and stir.

Cover the dutch oven and place in the heated oven for three hours. Check the lentils for doneness. If done reduce the heat to 150 and hold until dinner. If not done, increase the heat to 350 and cook, covered, until done.

Add the spinach if desired shortly before service and allow it to wilt and heat through.

Crusty bread and a Cote Du Rhone are perfect accompaniments.

[BilletHead]

Sounds yummy RPS,

We happen to have goose sausage and dried chanterelles or hens. We will try. Thanks,

BilletHead

[rps]

[ness]

Looks good. My kinda meal right there.

[Gavin]

Looks great, as usual. Did some turtle soup last weekend. Sourced some Louisina snapping turtle meat in town. Excellent, but a pain to butch. Could not distinguish a significant difference from the last time I made it with veal stew meat.

[BilletHead]

Well RPS I got it done.

Decided to make this for the Mrs. for here to come home to after work Tuesday. Sure made the house smell good that afternoon. Used goose sausage and for the jalapeno part I subbed some of the hot peppers I smoked.. She also said to tell you that you were one of her favorite people that day for this dish. I got an thumbs up for preparing it too,

BilletHead

[rps]

Wow. Thank you. And thank her.

[jdmidwest]

Looks great, as usual. Did some turtle soup last weekend. Sourced some Louisina snapping turtle meat in town. Excellent, but a pain to butch. Could not distinguish a significant difference from the last time I made it with veal stew meat.

Beware of the LA snapping turtle meat in STL. Probably MO box turtle.....

[Gavin]

No worries, the carcasses were much bigger than a box turtle. Guess there were 4-5 in a 5lb pack of boneless turtle meat. Packer was in Mandeville, so probably from Lake Ponchitrain.