Lentil and Chorizo Soup Recipe

Beans, beans good for your heart…

Well, you know the rest.  🙂  But here at The Everyday Home, beans are a staple that I cook quite often.  Simply because we love them.  There is nothing better than a pot of beans or a soup based with beans and a pan of warm cornbread.  We discovered a variation of this Lentil and Chorizo Soup when we lived in Belgium. There was a fantastic Spanish restaurant in the small village we lived in, and they had a Lentil and Chorizo Soup to die for.  When we moved back to the States, I knew I had to create a version of one of our favorite soups.  I am sharing it here with you.   Enjoy!

Oh and I have an announcement to make about a new monthly giveaway.  Find out more below!

……………………………………………………

This is the second recipe for my “Winter Cravings: Classic Comfort Foods” series.  

Each week during the month of January,  I am sharing one of our favorite family recipes which are “warms the heart and fills the tummy.”  If you missed last week’s recipe, you missed a good one. 

It’s my Old-Fashioned Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup.  Yum!

At the end of the month, I will put all of these recipes together in a convenient eBook (plus a few bonus recipes and printables) for FREE!  I love free!  😀  

Lentils.

They’re one of my fave dried beans.  They’re relatively quick and easy to cook, and I love that they are like little sponges that absorb lots of spices and flavors.  They’re also packed with a ton of nutritional value.  Unlike most other dried beans, they do not need to be pre-soaked for long periods of time, but I do inspect the dried beans to remove any debris or bad beans.  Who needs a bad bean right?  🙂

I think lentils particularly play well when paired with a meat such as sausage, especially chorizo.  I have also used Italian Sausage and regular ole’ country-style sausage and it was equally good, although resulting in different flavors, of course. 

This recipe calls for celery, onions and carrots – or a mirepoix as they say in France.  I have also added zucchini, potatoes and leeks in the past.  You can add as little or as few vegetables as you wish, but I think the secret is a)chopping the veggies so the size does not overwhelm the soup and take away from the beans, and b) there are not so many veggies that it becomes a “Veggie Soup” versus a Lentil Soup. 

If you are not familiar with Chorizo, it is a spanish-style pork sausage that generally has spices and either smoked red peppers or smoked paprika.  We eat a lot of chorizo in this house, both the Spanish variety and the Mexican variety.  If you’ve never tried this type of sausage you are missing out on a real treat. 

Here is the recipe in printable format…

Lentil and Chorizo Soup

2017-01-13 08:13:12

Serves 6

A rich, brothy soup filled with Spanish Chorizo sausage and lentils.

Write a review

Save Recipe

Print

Ingredients

1. 1 (1-lb) Bag dried lentils, picked through
2. 1 large white or yellow onion, chopped
3. 2 stalks celery, chopped fine
4. 3 Carrots, chopped into smaller bite-sized pieces
5. 3 potatoes, chopped into smaller bite sized pieces
6. 3 garlic cloves, chopped
7. 3 Tsp fresh parsley, chopped
8. salt and pepper
9. 2 whole bay leaves
10. 1 1/2 pounds Chorizo sausage links, sliced about 1/4" thick
11. 3 Tbs Sherry Vinegar
12. 7 Cups water
13. 4-5 Tbs Olive Oil
14. 1/8 tsp ground cloves
15. 2 Tsp Ground smoked paprika
16. 1 Tbs All-Purpose Flour

Instructions

1. 1) Place dried lentils and 2 teaspoons salt in large bowl. Cover with 4 cups boiling water and let soak for 30 minutes. Drain well.
2. 2. While beans are soaking - on medium heat in a large pan, bring 2 tablespoons oil to heat. Add sliced chorizo and cook until browned on both sides, about 6-8 minutes. Remove cooked sausages and set aside. Reduce heat to low and add chopped onion, celery, chopped potato,and carrots, 1 tablespoon parsley, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very soft but not brown, 25-30 minutes. If vegetables begin to brown, add 1 tablespoon water to pot.
3. 3. Add drained lentils and sherry vinegar to cooked vegetables. Increase heat to medium-high and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until vinegar starts to evaporate, 3-4 minutes. Add 7 cups water, cooked chorizo, bay leaves, and cloves; bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.
4. 4. Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil in small saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add paprika, grated onion, garlic, and ½ teaspoon pepper; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute longer. Remove chorizo and bay leaves (discard bay leaves) from lentils. Stir paprika mixture into lentils and continue to cook until flavors have blended and soup has thickened, 10-15 minutes. Season with salt, pepper as needed.

Notes

1. Serve with a yummy crusty bread!

By Barb Garrett, The Everyday Home

The Everyday Home https://everydayhomeblog.com/

…………………………………………………..

A NEW Monthly Giveaway!!!

I am so happy to announce that starting this month, I will be giving away a $100 Visa e-Card to one lucky winner.  No purchase necessary, all you have to do is comment on any post at The Everyday Home and you will be automatically entered. It’s that simple.  So good luck and I hope YOU win!

*(winner for January announced Feb 1)

……………………………………………………

Do you follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter & Instagram?  

I would love for you to Pin & Share this image on your fave social media sites.

Simply scroll the center of the image and click the icons of your choice. 

……………………………………………  

Thank you for spending a few

minutes of your day here with me. 

You can follow along with

The Everyday Home here….

PINTEREST      FACEBOOK TWITTER      INSTAGRAM

GOOGLE +     HOMETALK    BLOGLOVIN‘

Here are some of the Link Parties I may be sharing this post with.  

You can find more parties on my Linky Party Page.

” …finding joy in the everyday! “