Italian Sausages and Lentils

5 from 1 vote

Italian sausages and lentils made with vegetables, rosemary and garlic. This hearty meal is all made in one pot making it super easy and comforting. Note: try to use even amounts of carrot, celery and onion and chop them roughly the same size.

Prep Time10

Cook Time45

Total Time55

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: servings

Author: Emily Wyper

Ingredients

1 cup (200g) Umbrian Castelluccio lentils (or use dried puy lentils)
6 Italian Sausages (about 490g)
1 large carrot
1 large celery stick
1 medium onion
1 clove Garlic whole, peeled
¼ cup (60ml) Italian white wine
1 bay leaf
1 sprig Rosemary
1 cup (260g) Passata (tomato puree US)
3 cups (700ml) water
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Instructions

Prep notes

Castelluccio lentils do not need prior soaking but you do need to rinse them until cold running water for a few seconds. If you are using other lentils make sure to check the packet instructions just in case they do need to be soaked first.
Finely chop the vegetables so you have roughly the same amount of each and cut roughly the same size. Peel the garlic clove but keep it whole.

To make Italian sausages and lentils

Cut each Italian sausage into 3 chunks. Add a drizzle of olive oil to a large pot on a medium heat and brown the sausages (don’t cook them all the way through). Remove them and set aside on a plate.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil the the pot and saute the chopped vegetables and garlic until soft. Do this on a medium-low heat making sure the vegetables soften but don’t brown.
Once softened, add a small pinch of salt to the vegetables then add the sausages back to the pot.
Add the wine and let the wine simmer until it has reduced by half then add the rinsed lentils, passata, water and the bay leaf and rosemary sprig.
Bring the pot to a simmer then turn it down low and let it simmer uncovered for 35 minutes. Finish with some freshly ground black pepper and serve.

Notes

Using water instead of stock - Italian sausages are usually generously seasoned with salt so I don't recommend using stock. Water is traditionally used in this dish and believe me when I say that it has so much flavour!
Using salt - I recommend adding a little salt to the vegetables once they have softened then taste the lentils at the end of cooking so see if more needs to be added. It will all depend on how salty the sausages are.
Prep in advance - you can prepare this whole dish in advance then store it in the fridge once it has cooled completely. Reheat on the stovetop until piping hot, you shouldn’t need to add more liquid but you can add more as needed.
Leftovers can also be reheated the same way.

Nutrition