It is still cold and nasty outside. Time to stay in and cook a nice stew to keep yourself warm. This lately I have been cooking and baking a lot of my favorite childhood recipes. Dishes that are popular in the area I am coming from – like this German Lentil Stew with Sausages. A dish I could eat all the time – not only on cold days in winter or fall.
There are many dishes people do not like as kids but come to love when they get older. Anything with Brussels sprouts is a good example here. More or less all kids hate them, but the older you get the more likely it is you will tolerate this kind of cabbage or even start loving it. Same for lentil and pea dishes I guess. My »Brussels sprouts hating phase« as a kid was not very long – I guess my mom was very happy about that. Same for everything else. My mom loves all kinds of veggie stews and so do I.
Nowadays I really look forward to a dish like this one here and can hardly wait until everything is ready to be served. The excitement already starts when I put the lentils into the bowl to let them soak overnight. Weird, I know. It just shows how much I love these dishes. Honestly, my mouth is watering again, just thinking about it.
This (sour) lentil stew could be described as a classic stew from the south of Germany. In Swabia (Schwabenland), sour lentils are often served with spaetzle and wieners (those sausages Americans use for hot dogs). In our family, however, we always made a slightly modified version of the dish with »Knackwürsten« or »Mettenden« (both smoked sausages) – these sausages are much more flavorful than regular old wieners. I did not add the noodles in this recipe here – maybe I should do that some other time to give you the full Swabian experience.
Anyway. You should most definitely try this lentil stew one day – it’s really freaking delicious! If you ever see me eating this dish, don’t be surprised. I season this dish reaaaally heavily with vinegar (on top of the vinegar added during cooking). It would not be perfect without a big puddle of vinegar on top of the lentils. Probably way too much for anyone else but that’s how I am eating it since I was a kid. Love it!
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(4 servings)
9 oz. (250g) brown lentils
1 tbsp. butter
3.5 oz. (100g) bacon, diced
1 large onion, diced
1 bunch of soup greens (celery, carrots, leek), diced
27 fl. oz. (800ml) vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. marjoram
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. savory (Bohnenkraut)
salt, pepper
2-3 tbsp. Aceto balsamico
4 knockwurst/wiener
(4 Portionen)
250g Tellerlinsen
1 EL Butter
100g Speck, gewürfelt
1 große Zwiebel, gewürfelt
1 Bund Suppengrün (Sellerie, Karotten, Lauch), gewürfelt
800ml Gemüsenbrühe
1 Lorbeerblatt
1 TL Majoran
1 TL Thymian
1/2 TL Bohnenkraut
Salz, Pfeffer
2-3 EL Aceto Balsamico
4 Knacker/Mettwürstchen
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. The night before, sort out the lentils, rinse them, and let them soak in cold water for about 12 hours.
2. Dice the bacon. Peel the onion and dice it finely. Clean or peel the greens, cut the celery and carrots into small cubes, wash the leek thoroughly and then cut it into rings and chop coarsely. Rinse the lentils again and drain.
3. Add the butter to a large pot and fry the bacon in it. Add the onion and cook until soft and glossy. Next, add the chopped greens and drained lentils and cook for a few minutes. Deglaze with the vegetable stock, add the bay leaf, marjoram, thyme, and savory (Bohnenkraut) and let simmer over medium heat for about 50-60 minutes. After about 30 minutes, add the sausages and let them heat up with the stew. Season with salt, pepper, and the Aceto balsamico. Serve with additional vinegar.
1. Am Vorabend die Linsen aussortieren, spülen und dann für etwa 12 Stunden in kaltem Wasser einweichen.
2. Den Speck würfeln, die Zwiebel schälen und dann fein würfeln. Suppengrün säubern bzw. schälen, Sellerie und Karotten in kleine Würfel schneiden, den Lauch gründlich waschen und dann in Ringe schneiden und grob hacken. Die Linsen noch einmal spülen und abtropfen lassen.
3. Die Butter in einen großen Topf geben und den Speck darin anbraten und dessen Fett etwas auslassen. Die Zwiebel dazugeben und glasig andünsten. Das kleingeschnittene Suppengrün und die abgetropften Linsen dazugeben und alles für ein paar Minuten mit anbraten. Mit der Gemüsebrühe ablöschen, Lorbeerblatt, Majoran, Thymian und Bohnenkraut dazugeben und bei mittlerer Hitzezufuhr für etwa 50-60 Minuten köcheln lassen. Nach etwa 30 Minuten die Knacker mit in den Topf geben. Den Eintopf mit Salz, Pfeffer und Aceto Balsamico abschmecken. Mit zusätzlichem Essig servieren.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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German Lentil Stew with Sausages
- Prep Time: 00:15
- Cook Time: 01:00
- Total Time: 14:00
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: -
- Cuisine: Germany
Description
The perfect dish for a cold and rainy day: Lentil Stew with Sausages – one of our family’s favorite stews to cook in fall and winter. So good!
Ingredients
9 oz. (250g) brown lentils
1 tbsp. butter
3.5 oz. (100g) bacon, diced
1 large onion, diced
1 bunch of soup greens (celery, carrots, leek), diced
27 fl. oz. (800ml) vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. marjoram
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. savory (Bohnenkraut)
salt, pepper
2-3 tbsp. Aceto balsamico
4 knockwurst/wiener
Instructions
1. The night before, sort out the lentils, rinse them, and let them soak in cold water for about 12 hours.
2. Dice the bacon. Peel the onion and dice it finely. Clean or peel the greens, cut the celery and carrots into small cubes, wash the leek thoroughly and then cut it into rings and chop coarsely. Rinse the lentils again and drain.
3. Add the butter to a large pot and fry the bacon in it. Add the onion and cook until soft and glossy. Next, add the chopped greens and drained lentils and cook for a few minutes. Deglaze with the vegetable stock, add the bay leaf, marjoram, thyme, and savory (Bohnenkraut) and let simmer over medium heat for about 50-60 minutes. After about 30 minutes, add the sausages and let them heat up with the stew. Season with salt, pepper, and the Aceto balsamico. Serve with additional vinegar.
Notes
Enjoy cooking!
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