Our Lentil Soup has a distinct Italian flare, as we start with a soffrito plus garlic and leeks, and finished with the elements of gremolata, the delectable Italian condiment. This soup is already quite hearty, but one way to change it up and pump it up with more protein is by adding Italian sausage. We love doing this at home because it’s so easy to do and yields an entirely new but still familiar soup. 

The key is to sauté the sausage in a little olive oil in the same pot that you’ll use to heat up the soup. This is important for two reasons. First, the flavors of the sausage are drawn into the olive as it cooks. That will help those flavors permeate the whole soup once you pour the it on top. The second important reason to use the same pot is that means you have fewer dishes to do! Dishes are easily our least favorite aspect of cooking, so we’ll do what we can to save ourselves time during cleanup. More flavor and less work? Yes, please!

Ingredients
1/4 Sweet Italians Sausage, loose
1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Pouch Good Stock Lentil Soup

Preparation
Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the sausage and sauté, breaking it up with a spoon as it cooks. Cook the sausage until a nice brown color develops. Pour cold soup on top, stir well, turn heat to medium low, and cover. Scrape up any browned bits of sausage on the bottom of the pan. Be sure to stir the pot occasionally to ensure the lentils are not sticking to the bottom. 

Serve with crusty bread and top with gremolata. 

Notes
1. We prefer to use loose Italian sausage and break it up as it cooks. This yields more flavor, and we prefer the variable shapes the crumbled sausage takes.

2. Feel free to use Hot Italian Sausage, or a mix, if you prefer a little heat.