Spicy Chicken Sausage and Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

2 links of spicy chicken sausage, casing removed

1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced

2 celery stalks, finely diced

2 carrots, finely diced (I used 15 baby carrots)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp red chili flakes

1 cup uncooked brown lentils, rinsed

6 cups chicken stock

salt and pepper to taste

parmesan cheese, olive oil, and bread to serve

Directions:

In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm olive oil. Add the uncased chicken sausage and cook, breaking up with a spatula as it cooks. Sausage should finish cooking in small chunks. Remove from the pan.

Add a touch more olive oil if necessary. Add onions, celery, and carrots. Cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 to seven minutes. Stir occasionally. Add the garlic, cumin, and chili flakes, and cook for one minute more.

Add the sausage back to the pan. Stir to incorporate. Add the lentils and chicken stock. Simmer the soup, uncovered, until the lentils are tender, about 45 minutes.

Serve soup with a generous sprinkling of parmesan cheese, a drizzle of olive oil, and good crusty bread. Soup will last, in an airtight container in the fridge, for up to 5 days. Soup also freezes well.

Source: Joy the Baker