1000 Lentils For Good Luck

Well here we are again walking around saying Happy New Year to one another and can you believe it is the year 2015 - was it not just Y2K  or Prince's 1999?  
What did you do to celebrate this year...we had a quiet one at home with some Sushi and Sake, it is a little tradition my honey and I share on New Year's Eve.  We love it and have been doing it for quite sometime now.  The other tradition we like to partake in it is making a whole LOT and I mean a LOT of lentil soup, this year 30 cups, and taking half and sharing it!  I read a long time ago that eating something round resembling a coin is good luck for the new year and eating pork was also a symbol of good luck so I decided to make lentil soup with sausage each year to combine both for extra good luck and what better way to share the wealth than to share.  Each year I get so excited to make it and deliver it to someone in my inner circle of family and friends.  I usually make enough soup for a 1000 people regardless and this year was my biggest pot ever!  I loved making it and I hope that my friends did too...

Happy New Year everyone  - I hope it is one filled with much love, joy, happiness, health, wealth and good food!

1000 Lentils Soup

7 sweet sausage links

7 hot sausage links

2 tablespoons Olive Oil
2 large onions (diced)
1 16 oz. bag of celery (chopped)
1 16 oz. bag carrots (diced)
Salt/Pepper
1 90 oz. (yes that says ninety ounces) of San Marzano Tomatoes
***24 oz. dried lentils (rinsed and drained)
64 oz. low sodium chicken stock

In a very large stock pot slightly warmed over medium heat
Add olive oil
Remove the sausage from the casing
Add sausage meat to the olive oil and cook over medium heat
Break up the sausage meat into crumbles as it cooks
Cook till no longer pink about 10-15 minutes
While the sausage is cooking remove the whole tomatoes from the sauce and crush with
your hand into a bowl and set aside, reserve remaining sauce
Remove sausage from pot with a slotted spoon reserving the fat
Add onions and season with salt/pepper
Cook for 5 minutes
Add celery and carrots and re-season with salt/pepper
Cook for 5-8 minutes
Add the lentils
Stir to incorporate lentils and vegetables
Add in the crushed tomatoes and the reserved tomato sauce
Stir, stir, stir to incorporate
Re-season with salt/pepper
Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil
Cover and reduce heat and cook on medium/low for 1 hour and 15 minutes
Stir occasionally
After the 1 hour and 15 minutes taste to ensure lentils are tender and adjust seasoning to taste
Remove from heat and serve hot
Refrigerate remaining soup

Soup Season So Soon?!?

If you know me, follow my blog, or occasionally visit you know that I LOVE soup season.  There is no designated time for soup season it happens every year and when I designate the start.  Last soup season happened in January this soup season started last night!

What sparks the kick off of soup season in Forkful of Simplicity's kitchen you might ask...well the criteria is simple...is is cool enough outside, is is going to remain cool outside (this one is questionable), do we need something to warm the soul and the belly, and when was the last time we ate soup.  All very valid points for soup don't you think?

• Last night was cool outside actually it was gloomy, dank and dreary...check 
• Is it going to remain cool outside...questionable but the forecast shows yes for a few more days...check
• Do we need something to warm the soul and the belly...check, check
• I have no idea when the last time we ate soup was...check!  

To the soup file I went and came across a very different take on lentil soup.  Middle Eastern Lentil Soup.  It was so easy to make and required so few ingredients it was the perfect match for my eggplant sandwiches on, fresh from San Francisco, sour dough bread.

So celebrate Soup Season along with me and treat yourself to a bowl full of goodness tonight with this amazing, easy and delicious soup. Enjoy...and according to my husband it went nicely with his seasonal pumpkin ale!

Middle Eastern Lentil Soup

1 Cup Dried Lentils
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Small Onion (diced)
1 Medium Red Bell Pepper (diced)
Salt / Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
1 Teaspoon Whole Fennel Seeds
1/4 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
4 Cups Chicken Broth
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
Plain Yogurt

Pick over lentils
Rinse, drain and set aside
Heat stock pot over medium heat
Coat the bottom of the pot with olive oil
Add onions and peppers
Season with salt / pepper
Cook for 5 minutes
Add lentils
Season with cumin, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes
Stir to coat add chicken broth
Bring to a boil
Reduce heat to low
Cover and simmer 30 minutes
Stir in lemon juice
Spoon desired amount of soup into bowls
Top with 1 tablespoon of yogurt

Lentil Soup

So Heart Warming...

5 Slices of Bacon
1 Medium Onion (chopped)
3 Cloves of Garlic (minced)
4 Carrots (peeled and chopped)
4 Stalks of Celery (washed and chopped)
1 Bag Lentils (picked over and rinsed)
1 Large Can Diced Tomatoes
1 32 oz. Can of Low Sodium Chicken Broth
Salt/Pepper

In a large pot cook bacon until crisp
Remove bacon and crumble, set aside
Drain off 1/2 of bacon grease and add onion and garlic
Cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes
Add in carrots and celery season with salt/pepper
Cook for about 5-8 minutes or until vegetables are softened (stirring frequently)
Add lentils and stir
Add tomatoes and chicken broth
Re-season with salt/pepper
Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer till lentils are tender about 1 to 1 1/2 hours
Serve warm with a sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese

***Lentils tend to absorb liquid - more chicken broth or water may be added to maintain soup consistency during the simmering stage