Lentils with Chicken Sausage

• Recipe by Annie Wayte

This is Annie Wayte's healthy rendition of the classic British dish of bangers and mash. Instead of pork sausages, she uses chicken ones, and she replaces mashed potatoes with fiber-rich lentils.

Ingredients

1. 1 cup French green lentils (7 ounces)
2. 4 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
3. 1 carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
4. 1 celery rib, cut into 1-inch pieces
5. 1 small onion, quartered, plus 1 large onion, cut through the root end into 8 wedges
6. 1 garlic clove
7. 2 tablespoons canola oil
8. 4 thyme sprigs
9. 1 cup baby spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
10. Salt and freshly ground pepper
11. 4 precooked chicken sausages (3/4 pound)
12. 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. In a medium heavy soup pot, combine the lentils with the chicken stock. Cover and bring to a boil.
2. In a food processor, pulse the carrot, celery, quartered onion and the garlic until finely chopped. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the vegetables and the thyme and cook over moderately high heat until softened, 3 minutes; scrape into the lentils, cover and cook over moderate heat until the lentils are tender, 20 minutes. Stir in the spinach; season with salt and pepper.
3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in the skillet. Add the onion wedges and sausages and cook over moderate heat, turning occasionally, until the onions are softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook for 1 minute.
4. Thickly slice the sausages. Stir the sausages, onions and any accumulated juices into the lentils; discard the thyme sprigs. Spoon the lentils and sausages into bowls and serve.

Notes

One serving 494 cal, 24 gm total fat, 4.8 gm saturated fat, 39 gm carb, 9 gm fiber.