Roasted Italian Sausage Soup with Garbanzos, Lentils, and Tomatoes (Gluten-Free)

(Updated with better photos and step-by-step instructions, March 2014.)  I have so many good soups back in the archives that need a photo update that this winter I've been trying to make soup at least once a week and take new photos.  This soup has roasted turkey Italian sausage, garbanzos, lentils, and tomatoes, all ingredients I love so it's not a surprise that this is also one of my favorite soups.  When I first made this I had lots of slow roasted tomatoes in the freezer, so I used those for some of the tomato flavor.  This time I had to make the soup with just petite diced tomatoes in a can, but it was still really good.  Luckily I have some basil growing in the kitchen window again; the pop of fresh basil flavor was really great in this.  But even even without the fresh basil this is a lovely soup recipe; hope you'll try it if you get a cold wet spring day where soup sounds good!

This recipe is also a Public Service Announcement for cooks in the Southern Hemisphere, where summer is winding down and it's time to be focused on makingslow roasted tomatoes. Tossing fresh garden-ripened tomatoes with olive oil and a few herbs and then slowly roasting them all day concentrates the tomato flavor in a wonderfully delicious way that reminds you of summer again when you eat them (even when you're in Utah and it's barely spring.)

Spray a small pan with non-stick spray or olive oil and lightly brush tomatoes with oil.  Start sausage roasting at 400F/200C.

Heat oil in a heavy soup pot and saute onions until they're starting to brown, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and spices and saute 2-3 minutes more. 

While the onions and other seasonings are cooking, rinse garbanzo beans and give them a few good mashes with a potato masher.

Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, water, mashed garbanzos, and lentils to the soup pot and simmer 40-60 minutes on low, until the lentils are very soft.

When sausage has cooked about 20 minutes, turn over so they can brown on the other side.

I roasted my sausage about 40 minutes total, but you could get away with a little shorter time.

When the sausage is cool enough to handle, cut in half lengthwise and cut into half-moon slices.

When lentils are soft, add the sausage to the soup.  Deglaze the roasting pan with 1 cup water and add that as well.  (Blogger fail, forgot to take a photo of that.  Look at the pan above and use your imagination!)

When the soup has cooked 20-30 minutes with the sausage added, stir in the chopped basil and cook 2-3 minutes more. Serve hot.

And here's the original photo of this soup from 2008, not bad at all considering some of the photos I have from back then!

Roasted Italian Sausage Soup with Garbanzos, Lentils, and Roasted Tomatoes
(Makes six generous servings, recipe created by Kalyn on a March day when it was cold outside and she didn't want to leave the house to buy groceries.)

Ingredients:
1 pkg. (5 links) turkey Italian sausage (I like hot, but you can use mild sausage if you prefer)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp. + 2 tsp. olive oil 
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. ground fennel
1 T crushed garlic
1 can (14.5 oz.) petite diced tomatoes with juice 
1 cup slow roasted tomatoes, finely chopped
(if you don't have roasted tomatoes, use another can of petite diced tomatoes with juice)
1 can (15 oz.) garbanzo beans (chickpeas) mashed slightly
(Can also use 1 1/2 cups freshly cooked garbanzos)
1/2 cup brown lentils
4 cups chicken stock or canned chicken broth
(two 14 oz. cans, plus a little water equals 4 cups)
4 cups water 
3 T fresh chopped basil (you can also use frozen basil, the basil is probably optional but it does add a lot of good flavor)

Instructions:

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400F/200C. Lightly spray roasting pan with olive oil or non-stick spray, place sausages on pan, brush with a tiny bit of olive oil, and roast 30-40 minutes, until skins are nicely browned. When sausage has cooled slightly, cut into half lengthwise, then slice into half-moon slices.

While sausage roasts, heat 2 tsp. olive oil in heavy soup pot and saute onions about 5 minutes, until softened and starting to color. Add oregano, fennel, and garlic and saute 2-3 minutes more. Add roasted tomatoes, diced canned tomatoes, chicken stock, water, garbanzo beans, and lentils. Simmer 40-60 minutes, until lentils are soft and starting to slightly break apart.

Add sliced sausage to soup. Deglaze roasting pan with 1 cup water, scraping off all browned bits on the bottom of pan, and add to soup.  Simmer 20-30 minutes more. Stir in fresh or frozen basil (if using) and cook 2-3 minutes more. Serve hot.

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South Beach Suggestions:
Using turkey Italian sausage, this soup would be a perfect meal for any phase of theSouth Beach Diet.  Beans are a limited food for Phase One, so if you're doing Phase One I'd have a small bowl of soup with a nice green salad on the side.  For phase two or three, you could add 100% whole wheat bread or toasted pita bread.

Nutritional Information?

I chose the South Beach Diet to manage my weight partly so I wouldn't have to count calories, carbs, points, or fat grams, but if you want nutritional information for a recipe, I recommend entering the recipe into Calorie Count, which will calculate it for you.

More Tasty Soup with Italian Sausage:

(Recipes from other blogs not always South Beach Diet friendly; check ingredients.)
Italian Sausage Soup with Green Bell Pepper, Chickpeas, and Pesto ~ Kalyn's Kitchen
Italian Sausage and Bean Soup ~ Eat at Home 
Spicy Yellow Split Pea Soup with Italian Sausage and Green Pepper ~ Kalyn's Kitchen
Slow Cooker Spicy Sausage and Lentil Soup ~ 365 Days of Slow Cooking
White Bean Soup with Roasted Turkey Italian Sausage, Zucchini, and Basil ~ Kalyn's Kitchen 
Want even more recipes?  I find these recipes from other blogs using Food Blog Search.

Blogger Disclosures:

This recipe was first posted for Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by my friend Anna from Morsels and Musings.  Anna *is* in the Southern Hemisphere, so maybe she's making some slow roasted Tomatoes. 

Posts may include links to my affiliate account at Amazon.com, and Kalyn's Kitchen earns a few cents on the dollar if readers purchase the items I recommend, so thanks for supporting my blog when you .

via:http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2008/03/roasted-italian-sausage-soup-recipe.html