Lentil, Sausage, and Arugula Bowl
Lentil, Sausage, and Arugula Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 pound smoked sausage (regular OK too, jalapeno sausage is even better!)
- 1 large yellow or red onion
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons thyme
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 cups French green lentils
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons salt, more to taste
- 1 pint sour cherries OR 3/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries I bet a sweet-tart apple varietal in the Fall would be amazing!
- 6-8 cups arugula
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- black pepper to taste
- sliced green onion (optional topping)
Instructions
- Heat up a wide, heavy bottomed pot on medium-high high. Brown sausage on all sides, reduce heat if necessary.
- While sausage is browning, prep the next ingredients while the previous is cooking. Dice the onion, mince garlic, then pit and halve sour cherries if using.
- Once the sausage is browned and cooked through, remove to a plate and add onion. Cook onion until softened and beginning to caramelize in places. Add garlic and cook for two minutes more. It may take you the entire cook time of the sausage, onion, and garlic to pit the cherries.
- Add thyme, bay leaves, lentils, stock, and two teaspoons of salt. Also add dried cranberries if using (fresh sour cherries should be added after the lentils are cooked-see next step). Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer with a lid on. Check after 12 minutes to see how done the lentils are, I prefer the lentils chewy but cook to the doneness you like. Slice sausage and add back to the pot. If the lentils don't have enough liquid, add additional broth 1/2 cup at a time while cooking.
- Once the lentils are cooked to your liking, check salt and add more if needed. Turn off heat and add arugula a few large handfuls at a time, stirring to incorporate and wilt. Don't worry, all of the arugula will fit! Add sour cherries if using and lemon juice, mix, ladle out. Crack on black pepper if desired, top with sliced green onion, and enjoy!
Lentils sound oh-so-lovely and healthy in theory; but then you remember your disasters: bland, mushy, choke-down-your-fiber bowls of good ideas that just did not work. What went wrong?
You may be surprised that the different types of lentils are not just different in color, they all cook with different times and final textures! Yellow and red lentils turn soft and are best suited for adding a creaminess to a dish. Black lentils and French green lentils take a little longer to cook, but are also more forgiving in that they stay chewier and firmer and will not overcook as easily.
Next: Flavor.
I just can't find a flavor combination that is homier and takes well to a multitude of other spur of the moment additions than sausage and lentils. I found the best flavored sausages of my life at the Farmer's Market. When I moved to Maryland, I checked out an Amish farming family's stall at my local market. Happy pigs taste better. There, I said it. I prefer local and humanely raised meat as much as I can fit in my budget, and sausage is worlds better from a better-raised source.
Starting with amazing, local sausage actually inspired the original version of this dish entirely. That tastiness isn't cheap and I wanted to streeeetch my dollar. I started to think of how I could fill out a meal and enhance the sausage without overpowering it. Lentils! The rest is history once I actually took a few minutes to look up different lentils. Arugula was in my fridge, so it became the next ingredient I always include. The sweet-tart flavor provided by the fruit is the next real choice to make when planning this dish. Want cheap and easy? Dried cranberries add the perfect pop and any excess saves in the pantry until you need it again. I decided to grab some in-season sour cherries and wasn't disappointed despite the extra work of hand-pitting with a chopstick (see below for pictures!).
1.Heat up a wide, heavy bottomed pot on medium-high high. Brown sausage on all sides, reduce heat if necessary.
2. While sausage is browning, prep the next ingredients while the previous is cooking. Dice the onion, mince garlic, then pit and halve sour cherries if using.
3. Once the sausage is browned and cooked through, remove to a plate and add onion. Cook onion until softened and beginning to caramelize in places. Add garlic and cook for two minutes more. It may take you the entire cook time of the sausage, onion, and garlic to pit the cherries.
4. Add thyme, bay leaves, lentils, stock, and two teaspoons of salt. Also add dried cranberries if using (fresh sour cherries should be added after the lentils are cooked-see next step). Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer with a lid on. Check after 12 minutes to see how done the lentils are, I prefer the lentils chewy but cook to the doneness you prefer. Slice sausage and add back to the pot. If the lentils don't have enough liquid, add additional broth 1/2 cup at a time while cooking.
5. Once the lentils are cooked to your liking, check salt and add more if needed. Turn off heat and add arugula a few large handfuls at a time, stirring to incorporate and wilt. Don't worry, all of the arugula will fit! Add sour cherries if using, mix, ladle out. Crack on black pepper if desired, top with sliced green onion, and enjoy!