Deliciousness

For the past few days the idea of lentils and turkey sausage has been floating around my brain. I'm not sure where or when it came from, but I sure as heck am glad it did. We had some broccoli rabe turkey sausage in the freezer and a whole jar of green lentils. We also have carrots, celery and leeks that needed to be used up so I put them all into good use!

I had wanted to cook the sausages in the oven, but when that made our apartment as smokey as a poker hall I reconsidered and braised them with the lentils.

We also had salt boiled baby potatoes (freshly dug!), baked baby eggplants and heirloom tomatoes. Overall, an A+ dinner!

The lentils and sausage were very easy to prepare as well. I've included the recipe as it was made (as I intially created it) as well as how I'll make it next time (and you can bet your last lentil, there will BE a next time!).

Sausage and Lentils (2 servings plus leftovers)

1 cup lentils

1 carrot, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

2 cloves of garlic, chopped (next time I will grate)

1/2 cup leeks, diced

1 TBLSP olive oil

Salt, Pepper

1/2 Tblsp cumin (I would up this to 1 TBLS)

2 cans of chicken broth

2-3 cups water

I would add chopped fresh parsley or cilantro next time.

2 links turkey sausage (I had a broccoli rabe version)

cooking spray

Heat 1 Tablespoon oilve oil in large skillet (with lid). Add celery, carrot, garlic and leeks. Saute gently for 1 minute. Add lentils and 2 cans of chicken broth, stir well. Cover with lid and cook over med. high heat until lentils are tender. You may need to add more water depending on what kind of lentils you have. I ended up using 2 cups of water because my darn lentils wouldn't cook!

Meanwhile poke holes in turkey sausage and put in oven to bake at 350. If your oven is as temperamental as mine, you'll take it out in 10 minutes and have to open all your windows and doors. (Next time I will cook the sausage in water and crisp the skin in a frying pan).

Serve the lentils and sausage in a pretty plate!

The white blobs on the right hand side are the salt boiled baby potatoes. They look strange but taste great! You cook the potatoes with lots of salt (I used 2 Tablespoons) and let the water boil away. DON'T rinse the potatoes because that would defeat the purpose. Once the water has boiled away you are left with a salty, perfectly cooked potatoe.

My farm fresh baby potatoes (pre-boiling):

Farm fresh baby eggplant (pre-baking):