SAUSAGE AND LENTIL SOUP

We've been eating soup once a week since the cold weather hit. It's a satisfying meal, generally a healthy one, and thanks to cookbooks like Ciao Italia, Five Ingredient Favorites, a cinch to make. I've been craving lentils and found MaryAnn Esposito's recipe for sausage and lentil soup fit the bill. I just happened to have some Italian sweet sausage links in the freezer, a bag of lentils  and chicken broth in the pantry, so all I needed was a can of diced tomatoes and some ditalini.

8 servings
4 WW points per serving

3 links Italian sweet sausage, casings removed
6 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 cup lentils, rinsed and picked over
1/2 cup ditalini
2 cups diced tomatoes (I used the fire roasted, my favorite)
salt and pepper to taste

In a nonstick skillet, brown the sausage, breaking it up, until it is no longer pink. Set aside.

In a soup pot, add the chicken broth and lentil, bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes. You want the lentils to still be a bit firm.

Add the pasta and cook 6-8 minutes, until al dente.

Add the sausage and the diced tomatoes, cover the pot, and simmer for 10 minutes more.

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TASTE NOTES
This is a hearty soup and requires little more than a salad and some good bread to make a meal. I enjoyed mine with some toasted pita and hummus, my own brand of "fusion" cooking. These may be the perfect 5 ingredients because this soup tasted a lot more complex than the time and effort it took to make it. I was sorry that we had eaten all the escarole, though, because I do like to have a green in my soups. Next time...and there will be a next time.