Recipes

2 T. olive oil
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped.
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Pinch of hot pepper flakes
4 to 6 links of Caggiano sausage (I prefer Hot Italian but pick your favorite)
4 large plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped or 6 canned plum tomatoes, chopped

Using a large soup pot add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and heat to medium. Add the vegetables (onion, carrot, celery, bell pepper, garlic). Allow the vegetables to simmer just until they are translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the water or water and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer. Add the chopped tomatoes.
While the vegetables are simmering heat in a sauté pan 1 tablespoon of olive oil to medium heat. Brown the sausage links in the pan until they have a nice brown color (about 5 to 7 minutes). After browning, add the links of sausage to the soup. Allow to simmer for about 1 hour. After the sausages have simmered for about an hour, add the lentils. Simmer until the lentils are soft (about 45 minutes to 1 hour). If the lentils absorb most of the water, just add more to achieve the right consistency.
Place a sausage in each soup bowl. Add the parsley to the soup and stir. Ladle the soup into each bowl. Serve with grated Romano or Parmesan cheese and ground black pepper. Try not to eat the whole pot of soup. It’s so good!