Soups, Salads & Sauces
2 Tbs Olive oil
1 ea Onion, medium, diced
4 ea Carrots, medium
3 stalks Celery, chopped
4 sprigs Fresh thyme
1 tsp Salt
3/4 tsp Smoked paprika
3/4 tsp Oregano, dried
3/4 tsp Basil, dried
1 ea Bay leaf
2 ea Potatoes, small, cubed
1 ea Zucchini, sliced
1/2 tsp Black pepper
1-1/2 cups French green lentils
4 tsp Garlic, chopped
1 15 oz can Diced tomatoes, fire-roasted
1 15 oz can Diced tomatoes
4 cups Chicken broth
1-1/2 lb Breakfast sausage (or Italian sausage)
Parsley, chopped
8 oz Parmesan cheese
Adapted from www.wellplated.com by BBF, August, 2018.
Drizzle the oil into the Instant Pot. Set to SAUTE. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and stir. Continue to cook the onion, stirring often, until the onions are very soft and beginning to nicely brown and break down, about 8 minutes.
While the onion cooks, peel the carrots and cut into small dice. Small dice the celery as well. Add the carrots, celery, thyme sprigs, salt, smoked paprika, oregano, basil, bay leaf, potatoes, zucchini, and pepper. Saute until the carrots and celery are barely soft, about 2 minutes.
Add the lentils and garlic to the pot and stir to coat them in the spices. Let cook 30 seconds, until the garlic is fragrant. Add the diced tomatoes and chicken broth.
Cover and seal the Instant Pot, and then set to cook on HIGH pressure for 15 minutes. When pressure cooking is finished, allow the cooker to release pressure naturally. This will take about 10 to 15 additional minutes.
While the Instant Pot is cooking, saute and brown the sausage in a frying pan, breaking it up into small pieces with a potato masher.
When the Instant Pot is finished, open the lid and stir the soup. Remove the thyme stems, leaving the leaves in the soup. Stir in the cooked sausage.
If the soup is too thick for your liking, thin with a bit of water or additional stock. Taste and adjust the seasonings as desired.
Serve with a sprinkle of parsley if desired, grated Parmesan, and bread for dipping.