Prep all ingredients according to specifications above. Place the lentils in a bowl and look for any stones or debris and discard. Rinse the lentils well.
½ cup French or Umbrian lentils,
Brown sausage: Heat oil in a 6-quart (or larger) pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook for about 6 to 8 minutes, or until it has browned. Break up sausage into bite-sized pieces while stirring. Remove sausage from pot and set aside.
¼ cup olive oil, 8 ounces hot or sweet Italian sausage,
Reduce heat to medium. Then add onions, celery, carrots, garlic and crushed red pepper and cook for about 4 minutes, or until vegetables have softened a bit, stirring occasionally.
1 cup small diced yellow onions, ½ cup small diced celery, ½ cup small diced carrots, 2 Tbsp chopped garlic, ⅛ tsp crushed red pepper
Move vegetables to one side of pot. Then, add tomato paste and cook it for about 30 seconds. Add wine and stir to deglaze, loosening and scraping up any browned bits on bottom of pot.
2 Tbsp tomato paste, ½ cup dry red wine,
Add broth, tomatoes, mushrooms, lentils, salt, black pepper, dried herbs, bay leaves and reserved sausage and stir until all ingredients are well-combined.
5 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth, 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes, 8 ounces white mushrooms,, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp ground black pepper, ½ tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp dried basil, 2 bay leaves
Cover pot and bring mixture to a boil. Then, immediately reduce heat to a simmer and simmer, partially covered, for about 25 to 30 minutes or until the lentils and all vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Add additional liquid if you want a brothier soup.
Once the lentils are tender, reduce heat to low and remove the bay leaves. Then, add spinach and cook for another 2 minutes while stirring. Taste and adjust seasonings, then turn off heat.
5 ounces fresh baby spinach,
Ladle soup into bowls and top with grated Pecorino Romano cheese and a light drizzle of high-quality olive oil. Buon Appetito!
Extra-virgin olive oil,, Grated Pecorino Romano cheese,