Lentil soup with andouille sausage, lentil soup with lemon and dill

 

I enjoy a good red lentil soup. Green or brown lentils? That seems to take more work. I'm not sure if it's just a visual thing for me, or an actual taste difference. Red lentils are said to taste slightly sweeter, although nutrition-wise they're pretty much the same. Being hulled, red lentils cook faster and break down more readily. I think I react as much as anything to the fact that the green and brown lentils look bland so I expect them to taste that way.

But yet I had partial packages of brown and green lentils on hand, so here are two takes on lentil soup, one meatless and one not.

This first soup is one of the recipes you read and think, hey, I have every single one of those ingredients in the house. It's a sign.

Lentil and andouille soup
Adapted from Meredith Deeds as printed in the Star Tribune Taste section. Basically the only change I made was in reducing the amount of sausage because once I’d chopped two links’ worth it looked like plenty compared with the vegetables I’d just chopped.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces andouille sausage, sliced lengthwise and then crosswise into ¼ -thick slices.
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons tomato paste
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1⅓ cups brown or green lentils
4 cups broth
2 cups water
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions
in a large Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add sausage, onions, carrots and celery and cook until vegetables are softened, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, tomato paste, salt and pepper and cook for about 3 minutes. Add lentils, broth, water, thyme and bay leaf. Bring mixture to a simmer and let cook until lentils are tender but not falling apart. How long that takes depends on the type of lentils you use; green lentils usually take closer to 45 minutes, so keep checking. Remove thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Add vinegar and parsley at the end and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed. 

Rating: This soup tastes like smoked paprika to me, which I like, although it has none in it. The sausage infuses this soup thoroughly, and the tomato paste adds enough color that the soup is almost red lentil colored, so I don't have the sensation that I'm eating pebbles in muddy water. As brown lentil soups go, this one has reasonable merit.

Lentil soup with lemon and dill
Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens March 2016. (I would link to it, but I can't find it on their website anymore or at the address they listed, BHG.com/LentilSoup.) Makes 4 reasonably hearty servings.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
4 quarts broth
2 cups water
1½ cups green lentils
3 carrots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons lemon juice
½ cup fresh dill springs, coarsely chopped
2 green onions, finely chopped
Crème fraiche or plain yogurt for garnish

Method
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan. Add cumin seeds and cook until fragrant. Stir in broth, water, lentils, carrots, garlic, bay leaf, ground cumin and salt. Cover and bring to a simmer. Cook until lentils are tender, 25 to 35 minutes. Add lemon juice. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve topped with a dollop of crème fraiche, dill and green onions. 

Rating: Worth trying but probably not repeating. It was better the second day once the flavors had time to intensify a bit, but it's not a wower in the flavor department.