German lentil soup with sausages
Linsensuppe: lentils, potatoes and bacon simmered until thick, with sliced sausages and a splash of vinegar at the end that makes it sing.
- 60 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 6
- About $1.46 a serving
- 420 calories
- Good the next day
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 3 slices bacon, chopped
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
- 1½ cups lentils, brown or green, rinsed
- 3 chicken bouillon cubes, check the box: most cubes make 2 cups each
- 4 hot dogs, sliced into coins
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 7 cups water
- 1 tsp dried marjoram
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 420 calories, 20 g protein, 51 g carbs and 16 g fat, and costs about $1.46 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No Yukon Gold potatoes? Russet potatoes or red potatoes work.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the bacon, the onion, carrots, celery and potatoes, and the lentils.
Chop. Chopping means cutting food into bite-size pieces that don’t need to be neat. Keep them roughly the same size so everything cooks evenly.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are about half an inch and roughly alike, even if none of them are pretty.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Cook the bacon in a large pot over medium heat until , about 6 minutes.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Medium heatTimer: 6 min
Food safety: Cook bacon until it’s crisp and no longer translucent.
Add the onion, carrots and celery to the bacon and fat and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, until soft.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Add the lentils, potatoes, water, bouillon cubes, marjoram, thyme and bay leaves and over high heat.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Turn the heat to low, set the and for 35 minutes, until the lentils are soft and the potatoes are starting to break down.
Lid ajar. Lid ajar means resting the lid on the pot slightly off-center, leaving a small gap. Some steam escapes, so the sauce thickens and doesn’t boil over, while most of the heat stays in.
How you’ll know: A thin wisp of steam drifts out of the gap, and the pot bubbles gently without spilling.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 35 min
Add the hot dogs and simmer for 5 minutes, until they’re hot all the way through.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Low heatTimer: 5 min
Pull out the bay leaves, stir in the vinegar and pepper, taste for salt, and serve with parsley.
Dolly’s tip: Don’t skip the vinegar. In Germany it’s the whole point: it makes the earthy lentils taste bright.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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