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Caramelized onion, lentils and mushroom soup - creamy, hearty and decadent soup, topped with smoked sausage and fennel pollen for an irresistible depth of flavors. | www.viktoriastable.com

Caramelized onions, lentils and mushroom soup with smoked sausage and fennel pollen

Caramelized onion, lentils and mushroom soup - creamy, hearty and decadent soup, topped with smoked sausage and fennel pollen for an irresistible depth of flavors.
Course Soup
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 4
Calories 448 kcal
Author Viktoria

Ingredients

For the soup:

  • 4 Tbs olive oil, divided
  • 1 lbs onions (about 2 large ones)
  • 1 lbs mushrooms
  • 1/3 cup red lentils
  • 5 cups homemade chicken stock or mushroom broth
  • 2 tsp dry mushroom spice *
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 150 g smoked Polish sausage
  • a few pinches of fennel pollen **

For the cheesy toasts:

  • 4 slices good quality Italian bread, such as Ciabatta, or Pugliese
  • 2 Tbs butter
  • 1 garlic clove, smashed
  • 1/2 cup Mozarella, Gruyere or other melting cheese, grated

Instructions

To make the soup:

  1. Heat 2 Tbs olive oil in wide pan, and add the onions, with salt and pepper. Once the onions begin to color, stir and reduce the heat to medium-low. Continue to cook the onions, stirring often, until they are nicely caramelized (about 15-20 minutes).

  2. In a separate pan, saute the mushrooms in 2 Tbs of olive oil, salt and pepper, until cooked.

  3. In a soup pot, add the mushrooms, caramelized onions, the chicken broth, and lentils.

  4. Add the mushroom spice mix, smoked paprika, nutmeg and more salt and black pepper if needed. Cover and cook until the lentils become mushy and disintegrate (20-30 minutes).

  5. Place 2/3 of the soup in a blender (or use an immersion blender) and process until creamy. Reserve the rest, and mix in with the creamy soup before serving.

  6. In a dry pan, cook the sliced smoked sausage, until it gets a nice color on both sides.

  7. Add on top of the soup, and sprinkle fennel pollen just before serving.

  8. Serve with cheesy garlicky toasts.

To make the cheesy garlicky toasts:

  1. Melt 2 Tbs of butter, and add 1 crushed garlic clove to it.

  2. Brush both sides of the bread slices with the garlic butter, and toast.

  3. Top each slice with shredded cheese and return to the broiler until the cheese is bubbly.

  4. Sprinkle with fennel pollen just before serving.

Recipe Notes

* See how to make your own dry mushroom spice mix, or use a store-bought one.