This soup turns up most often on the menu at the 91st Street restaurant, where our regulars love it during the cold, icy months when New York is gray and damp. It’s a hearty and warming soup, made even more so with the addition of sausage, bacon, and pancetta—all of which can be tossed aside to make this soup ideal for vegetarians, with vegetable stock standing in for the chicken stock. This is a terrific Sunday night family meal and a delicious leftover weekday meal.–Michael Ronis

A white pot filled with rustic lentil soup, and a metal ladle scooping out a portion.

Rustic Lentil Soup

4.91 / 11 votes
Rustic lentil soup is full of nourishment, comfort, and flavor. A simmering pot of green lentils, tomatoes, carrots, celery, potatoes, and spices. Add sausage, bacon, and pancetta, if you're so inclined.
David Leite
CourseAppetizers
CuisineAmerican
Servings4 servings
Calories727 kcal
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon (1/2 oz) unsalted butter, 1/2 oz
  • 2 ounces diced pancetta
  • 2 strips bacon, diced
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • 1 onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 2 small plum tomatoes, peeled, cored, and finely chopped
  • 5 to 6 cups homemade chicken stock or canned chicken broth
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano leaves
  • 1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups green lentils*, rinsed and drained
  • 1 russet potato, peeled and diced
  • 1 to 2 Italian sweet or hot sausage links (5 oz | 143 g)

Instructions 

  • In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat until the butter starts to foam. Add the pancetta and bacon and cook until the bacon is crisp, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until the garlic has softened, about 2 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, and onions and cook until the vegetables are tender and lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, strain the chopped tomatoes through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing on the pulp to extract as much liquid as possible.
  • Add 5 cups chicken stock to the pot and then stir in the strained tomato pulp, bay leaves, salt, thyme, oregano, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Add the lentils, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring the soup to a boil. Partially cover the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook the soup for about 45 minutes.
  • Add the potatoes and cook the soup for about 15 minutes more, stirring occasionally, or until the lentils and potatoes are tender. Add more chicken stock if the soup becomes too thick.
  • Meanwhile, remove the casings from the sausage. In a small nonstick saute pan over high heat, cook the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, for 4 to 5 minutes or until it is nicely browned.
  • Add the sausage and any fat remaining in the pan to the soup. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Taste the soup and add salt if necessary. Remove the bay leaves and serve.

Notes

*What can I substitute for green lentils?

Green and Puy lentils are usually favored because of their texture and flavor, holding their shape well in both warm and cold dishes. If you can’t get green lentils, brown lentils do an excellent job of subbing in. Brown lentils hold their shape like the green variety and have a similar earthy taste. Be aware that they can cook a little more quickly, so start checking them earlier than you would with the green variety.

Vegetarian Rustic Lentil Soup variation

Omit the pancetta, bacon, and sausage and substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock.

Sliced Sausage Rustic Lentil Soup variation

Instead of crumbling and cooking the sausage, simply slice and pan sear before adding to the soup.
Carmine's Family Style Cookbook by Michael Ronis

Adapted From

Carmine’s Family Style Cookbook

Buy On Amazon

Nutrition

Serving: 1 portionCalories: 727 kcalCarbohydrates: 72 gProtein: 35 gFat: 33 gSaturated Fat: 10 gTrans Fat: 1 gCholesterol: 54 mgSodium: 1417 mgFiber: 25 gSugar: 10 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe?Mention @leitesculinaria or tag #leitesculinaria!
Recipe © 2008 Michael Ronis. Photo © 2021 Uckyo. All rights reserved.

Recipe Testers’ Reviews

This soup is seriously good, and it’s even better the day after. I like that it is a chop and drop kind of soup. It’s a snap to throw together—except for peeling tomatoes, a job I hate. I also like that it can be made to suit a vegetarian diet for those times when I want to serve the same dish to everyone.

Upon reading this recipe again, I was delighted to see that a vegetarian version was offered, as I don’t eat pork. Vegetarian soups are often lacking in flavor, but this soup certainly didn’t disappoint. It was delicious.

The choice to use green lentils made for a very nicely textured dish in which many of the lentils held their shape while just enough of them melted into a thick purée. The pieces of carrots and potatoes added to the chunky texture. As the recipe says, with a nice loaf of bread, this is dinner.

This soup was fantastic! My husband doesn’t generally love anything made with lentils, but I think this soup converted him. After several bites he declared that I should definitely make it again. I agree.

It wasn’t difficult or especially time consuming, just a great soup to have bubbling away on the stove for Sunday dinner. I used hot Italian sausage which gave the soup a nice spicy edge.

This is a great go-to soup for the winter. I made a huge pot of it and put the extra in small containers in the freezer to pull out later. It’s a meal in itself.




About David Leite

I count myself lucky to have received three James Beard Awards for my writing as well as for Leite’s Culinaria. My work has also appeared in The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Bon Appétit, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Yankee, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and more.


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Recipe Rating




14 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    First time, this soup was a smash hit! Second time, was even better! I substituted the herbs with Italian seasoning, I used canned stewed tomatoes, and put in 3 meats (sausage, bacon, and ham). I had made oven roasted chicken the night before so I used the left over chicken broth as stock. DELICIOUS! 5 Stars

    1. Wonderful, Melanie. We’re so pleased that you love this as much as we do. Thanks for taking the time to comment.