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one ordinary bowl of clear golden-brown broth containing browned smoked sausage coins, distinct orange butternut squash cubes, small green lentils and cooked chopped dark-green kale, with no cream, pasta, beans, cheese or garnish
Andre Lewis

Sausage, Kale and Butternut Squash Soup

Brown the kielbasa before adding the lentils so its smoky flavor seasons the broth as well as the sausage itself. Green lentils give the soup substance while leaving the squash and kale easy to recognize. Add the squash after the lentils have had a head start; it shouldn't disappear into the liquid before the lentils soften. The kale goes in last and cooks only until tender. This is a brothy soup with distinct sausage coins and orange vegetable pieces, so keep the simmer gentle once everything is in the pot.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 12 oz fully cooked smoked pork kielbasa cut into 1/4-inch coins
  • 1 medium yellow onion diced
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 3/4 cup dry green lentils rinsed and picked over
  • 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 dried bay leaf
  • 1 lb butternut squash peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
  • 4 cups stemmed kale chopped into small pieces
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Method
 

  1. Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Brown kielbasa coins for 5 to 6 minutes, turning once, then transfer to a plate.
  2. Cook onion in the same pot for 5 minutes, scraping up browned bits. Stir in garlic for 30 seconds, then add lentils, broth and bay leaf.
  3. Bring to a simmer, cover partly and cook for 15 minutes. Add squash and browned kielbasa and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes more until lentils and squash are tender.
  4. Stir in kale and pepper and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes until the leaves are tender. Remove bay leaf, stir in vinegar and divide among 6 bowls.