but here's the recipe as I've written it up.
LENTIL SOUP (GENERAL RULE)
A ‘General Rule’ recipe is an old concept. Broadly speaking, it says that if you do certain things, the recipe will work out as a formula – a cake will be a cake, a soup will be a soup, etc. Anything not specified is to be at the discretion of the cook and won’t affect the success of the formula. Often, this would be flavorings/seasonings, etc. There’s no guarantee that you’ll like the outcome, but at least the soup won’t be a cake and the cake won’t be a soup.
Mess around, there’s a lot of wiggle room. This soup stores well and is better the next day. It's a good fridge cleaner.
About 3 cups of basic soup vegetables, diced ¼”. Generally, 1 large onion, 2 celery stalks, 2 medium carrots. Or whatever you like. Peeled diced broccoli stem is great here
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1 med to large garlic clove, smashed flat and skin removed. (opt.)
3 quarts of liquid (and you’ll probably need to add water later). I’ve used with success 32oz or 48 oz (large box) commercial beef broth and 1 quart tomato ‘broth’ (a byproduct of canning tomatoes). Lacking the tomato broth, I’d use an extra quart of water and add a large can/jar of tomatoes, hand-crushed, at the end. Veggie broth instead of beef broth? Fine.
2 large Italian-American mild sausages, skinned and chopped. These are moderately seasoned, including fennel seeds and are a major contributor to the flavor – if you use a different sausage or other meat, or if you go veggie, you’ll need to season more highly. Optional, but good.
1 ½ c lentils. Inspect them to remove any small rocks or dirt clods. Once that’s done, rinse them off well. Large green or brown lentils are best. Or try split peas, green or yellow.
Other flavorings. I’d start with ½ tsp salt, a generous grind of pepper and a small-med bay leaf.
Towards the end, greens are good. 1 cup pre-cooked or frozen, if a sturdy green such as kale or chard (blanched, squeezed out and chopped). A delicate green such as spinach can be put in raw a few minutes before serving (frozen spinach is also good). Be aware that fresh will cook down – I’d use 4 cups raw spinach. Or just throw in a handful of chopped parsley. If you have a fresh tomato sitting around, chop it and put it in at the last minute for another fresh flavor.
Process: Sauté the meat in a little olive oil for a few minutes, then add the veg and sauté til the bottom of the pan starts to have a little brown residue. Add the garlic and stir for about a minute. Add the liquid (and appropriate seasonings) and simmer for about half an hour. Add the lentils and simmer for another hour or more, til lentils become tender, adding water as needed to keep it from becoming too dry. Put in any last-minute additions (tomatoes, greens, parsley, etc.), simmer for another few minutes, pick out the bay leaf, correct the seasoning (check for salt/pepper, etc.) and serve.
To can: Cook without adding the lentils. Put 1/4 c rinsed raw lentils per pint jar. Add the cooked mix, leaving 1” headroom. Pressure-can at 10#, pints for 60 minutes, 75 min for quarts.
This particular batch was a double batch, as I wanted to can most of it. Among the extras I threw in was most of a carton of pico de gallo, drained - I wanted the veg and the spice, but as little of the lime juice as possible. Also, a pint jar of home-canned green beans that I didn't love and DH refused to eat at all. It was good flavored, but just too soft. I drained the juice into the soup pot, cut up the beans and threw them in. It's food, it's here, we paid for it, we're eating it.
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