Lentils and Sausage - Lenticchie e Musetto

For 2 very hungry people

let's start cooking the sausage:

In a deep pot, add the “musetto” (or sausage of your choice), a carrot cut in pieces, a cut up celery stick and a quarter of an onion, then cover with cold water. 

Bring the pot, to the boil, DO NOT COVER, then simmer for about 2 hours, cleaning the foam from the surface. Once cooked, leave in the water. 
Now, while the sausage is cooking, prepare the lentil dish, you will need:

2- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small chopped onion

half a celery stick-chopped

300 gms of dried lentils-NOTE: dried lentils DO NOT require that you soak them overnight, however, one can use a can a pre-soaked lentils if you like 

bay leaf

a potato, chopped in small cubes

a tablespoon of tomato paste

water

pepper

salt

and a tiny, tiny pinch of chili powder

Heat the oil. Add onions and celery, and soften a little, about 5 minutes or so, then add the lentils, stir so that they are all the ingredients come in contact with the oil. Now the water. Initially, make sure the water is about 5 centimetres over the lentils. And now the bay leaf.

 

Simmer following instructions on your dried lentil package, my lentils will take about half an hour, and I need to keep checking on them, to make sure there is always water JUST covering the lentils.

Once the lentils have softened, add the tomato puree, then the potato cubes, and cook until they're soft. Add more water if need be, but not too much, as this dish should not be too watery. Simmer a few minutes.

When all seems ready, grind in some pepper, and NOW you can add the salt, only at the VERY end. NOTE: If you add salt to the lentils too early, they become tough.
I also like a tiny, tiny, pinch of chili powder. The lentils are done...

Let's assemble the dish:

Remove the cooked sausage from the pot, place on cutting board, remove the skin and thickly slice the "musetto".

Spoon the lentils into a plate and add a few slices of the sausage.

Drizzle with a little olive oil, have plenty of crusty bread on hand. Dig in!

Have a Great Venetian Year!!!