- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
- 3 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks of celery, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 (15 oz) can of diced tomatoes
- 4 chicken and herb sausages, quartered and diced
- Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- Pinch of crushed red pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 8 cups of chicken broth
- 3 cups of prepared lentils
- Fresh parsley, chopped
Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, sausage, garlic, tomatoes, sea salt, freshly cracked pepper, basil, oregano, and crushed red pepper; stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add the chicken broth, lentils, and bay leaf, stir then cover and simmer for 1-2 hours.
Remove the bay leaf then blend the soup for 30 seconds with an immersion blender, to make the soup a bit thicker; make sure you don't blend too long.
Add the fresh chopped parsley to the soup and serve. Enjoy.