Lentil soup with kale and sausage.

A co-worker recommended this recipe to me and I wanted to pass it along. I've made it twice now, two weeks in a row, so that should tell you something about how delicious it is. Does it compare to a certain lentil & sausage soup I had (god, six years ago now) in Chicago, at the home of my dear friend's mother? It might hold a candle to it, but it's definitely not superior. Sometime I'll try to recreate that recipe successfully, but for now, definitely give this a try--before the kale gets replaced (finally!) by tender asparagus, baskets of pea-pods, and all the other long-awaited spring favorites.

A few notes:

• I've been using sweet italian sausage instead of kielbasa. It's good.
• Tonight I skipped the onion because I didn't have any. (Note to self, always keep one behind before you cook up a whole bag of onions.) It's still good but use onion if you have it.
• Tonight I tried deglazing the pot with a little red wine (~2 tb) after I cooked the sausage. I like the results--it has a richer taste and more of a layered effect with the acidity that comes later from the tomato and vinegar.
  
• Don't skip the balsamic vinegar at the end. It really ties the whole thing together amazingly well.
  

Lentil soup with kale and sausage
Serves 4 (I guess. I am just me, so it also serves one, for as long as you can stretch it.)

a 2 1/2-inch piece smoked kielbasa, sliced thin (or: same quantity of chorizo, or: 1/4 lb of sweet or spicy italian sausage)
olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced (I left mine mostly intact. I like the way a whole clove perfumes the overall dish. Also, minced garlic burns easily, and there's nothing that will ruin a recipe more quickly than burned garlic.)
1 small onion, diced

2 carrots, peeled and sliced into half-moons (my addition)

1 sprig rosemary
1/2 cup lentils, picked over
3 cups of cooking broth
1/2 bunch kale, stems and center ribs discarded and leaves sliced thin (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup good quality canned tomatoes (pre-diced or roughly diced by hand--not crushed)
1 tablespoon balsamic or red-wine vinegar
Grated cheese

In a 3-quart heavy saucepan brown sausage over moderate heat. If you're using the Italian sausage make sure you cook it through, then transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.

*****

Quick tangent/question:

At this point, the recipe as it was given to me presents this direction:

"If there is more than 1 teaspoon fat in pan pour off excess; if there is less, add enough oil to measure 1 teaspoon fat."

Now, doesn't that seem like a messy hassle, particularly with a hot heavy saucepan? I say, take a look at how much grease there is in the pan. If it looks like a lot, take a paper towel with your hand or a pair of tongs and give the pan a quick wipe to blot some of the grease. Otherwise, just let it alone and don't add any more oil. Efficiency, let me show you it.

*****

Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened and golden. If you want to deglaze the pan, add 2 tb red wine now and let it cook down for a few minutes, scraping up the bits (real chefs call this "fond") as you go.

Add lentils, broth, rosemary (whole--you'll pull it out at the end) and sausage and simmer, covered, 25 minutes. Add kale and tomatoes and simmer, uncovered, until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in vinegar and salt and pepper to taste, then yank out the rosemary--and the whole garlic if you're afraid to get that in a bite (I'm not). Ladle it up and finish with a little swirl of olive oil and fresh grated cheese.

PS: Italy recaps are coming, someday soon. Prego!