This soup has the spirit of a gumbo, but is gluten free as it uses lentils to thicken it instead of the traditional roux. It is also versatile in that you can add, subtract, or swap different vegetables, proteins, or herbs. For example, the original recipe calls for 4oz of smoked ham, and I have made it that way a couple times, but next time I will probably use about 1/2C of small shrimp instead.
The soup freezes well and, in my opinion, tastes just as good served cold on a hot day. When serving, my understanding is that it is traditional to first add a portion of steamed rice to the bowl first. If I were to use rice, I might add about one cup of unwashed, (to maintain the outer starch coating to add more thickening), long-grain rice along with the lentils and cook everything together, but I have not tried that. The biggest thing to keep in mind is that salt can retard the softening of the lentils. Therefore, I only use a little salt when cooking to bring out some of the water from the vegetables, and use salt-free stock. I do add salt at the end and recommend doing so, but that is up to you and your tastes. If using shrimp, I would add it about 5 (fresh) to 10 (frozen) minutes before the end of cooking so they do not get rubbery.
Timings
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Wait: 1 hour
Total: 1 hour, 50 minutes
Equipment Notes
- I use a 5qt saucepan for this
Ingredients
- 8oz andouille sausage, quartered and sliced about 1/4in, (4 links of the alfresco brand sausages I use.)
- 2T olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion (about 1C), diced
- 2 ribs celery (about 1C), sliced about 1/2in
- 1 green bell pepper (about 1C), diced
- 1/4t kosher salt
- 1t paprika
- 1t ground cumin
- 1/2t black pepper
- 1/2t ground thyme
- 1/4t dried oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 6C chicken stock, salt free or reduced sodium
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, diced
- 4oz smoked ham, diced
- 3/4C okra, sliced (can be frozen)
- 1C green lentils, rinsed
- 1t worcestershire sauce
- 1/2t hot sauce (I use Frank’s RedHot)
- 1/4C parsley, chopped
- 3 scallions, sliced with half the green ends reserved
- 1/2t salt (to taste)
Steps
- Add sausage to a saucepan on medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes or until the sausage is browned, stirring frequently. Bits of the sausage will stick to the bottom of the pan and burn, but that is desirable.
- Add the oil, onion, celery, bell pepper, and salt. Mix well and cook 5 minutes or until the onions start turning translucent, stirring occasionally and scraping the burnt bits off the bottom of the pan.
- Add the paprika, cumin, pepper, thyme, oregano, and garlic. Mix well and cook 2 minutes stirring frequently.
- Add the chicken stock, chicken thighs, bay leaf, ham, and okra. Bring to a slow simmer then reduce the heat to maintain the simmer. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the lentils and cook 1 hour or until the lentils are softened, stirring occasionally and adjusting the heat as needed to maintain the slow simmer.
- Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, parsley, and scallions, and cook 3 minutes.
- Remove the bay leaf, add seasoning (e.g. salt and pepper) to taste, and garnish with the reserved scallion greens when serving.