New Year’s Lentil Soup with Sausage Meatballs

This savory Italian-inspired soup is filled with earthy lentils, infused with aromatic herbs and peppered with tender meatballs. Lentils are a New Year’s tradition, but this soup is great anytime.

Happy New Year! What are your New Year’s resolutions?

I have mixed feelings on New Year’s Eve and New Years. On the one hand, I think it’s a little overblown. Reasons: I already stay up past midnight most days, I’d rather drink hot chocolate by the fire than go out and I already set expectations for myself I can’t possibly meet without a holiday to mark the occasion.

On the other hand, I do think it’s nice to have a symbolic check-in where you can create a blank slate along with all the other people trying to do the same. It’s a good time for people who go 100 mph to stop in the quiet days after earlier holidays and reflect on what’s working and what’s not.

Keeping things real with New Years Resolutions is a tough balance to strike, and it can get ugly fast.

I know I said I don’t need a holiday to tell me to set my expectations, but that’s only half-right if I’m being honest. As a strategic communicator in my day-jobs, I’m always setting deadlines and benchmarks to measure against—otherwise how do you even measure whether you were successful or refine your strategy? How do you stay intentional?

As a human, I should do that more in my own life.

I’m thinking about that a lot right now, especially after this particular holiday season. I typically go all out baking and making food as gifts, but this year I just couldn’t do it. I had too much on my plate, and didn’t finish up my work from the fall in time before we set out on our holiday travels.

Some of my favorites to make are salted, nutella-stuffed, browned butter chocolate chip cookies; peppermint hot chocolate mix; peppermint marshmallows; salted bourbon caramels and my favorite: povitica. Povitica (po-va-teet-sa) is a magical Croatian swirled bread stuffed with walnuts, chocolate and cinnamon. I started making it about four years ago as a way to connect with my roots, and it’s become a tradition. An incredibly labor-intensive tradition where I spend two days making five delicate, twirly loaves.

Had to skip it too. It was the bread, or my sanity. Considering Christmastime is when I finally see all my family and friends, I needed the sanity. I’ll send the bread later.

I don’t think we should be too tough on ourselves or beat ourselves up, but it’s always good to consider what’s actually realistic and give ourselves time to make it work. So, as much as I don’t want to make it too big a deal, a year is a pretty good checkpoint. You have the symbolism of the cycling seasons, the restful few days to think (if you’re lucky) and other people doing the same thing to help you get excited and keep you accountable.

It might sound odd, but all of that ties perfectly into this recipe for lentil soup with sausage meatballs. Symbolism, tradition, realism, slowing down and hey, getting excited! Because this soup is really, really good.

Eating lentils after midnight on New Year’s is considered good luck in Italy, and the legumes have similar symbolic meanings around the world. The coin-shaped pulses represent good luck and prosperity to Italians, and are often served with pork sausage, stuffed trotters and other pig-based products because pigs root forward. Other cultures focus on the circular shape of the lentils as well, but they associate it more with the circle of life itself rather than fortune.

Beyond that, lentils are incredibly nutritious and accessible, as hearty crops with plenty of vegetable protein. They’ve been a staple of multiple cultures’ diets for thousands of years for a reason.

Prosperity, luck, forward-motion, health, life cycles. What’s more New Year’s than that?

Well, if you’re like me, a strong dose of realism. In life, that means trying to set goals I can actually achieve and reasonable time-frames. In this recipe, it means that I’m not making stuffed pig trotters with my lentil soup. Not that I have anything against it, and I’m not saying I would never make it or try it. Maybe I will one day, but it’s just not going to become a tradition in the Cavalier house.

More realistic? Sausage meatballs. Yes, please. Accessible. Simple. Still symbolic.

It’s also so, so delicious. The earthy, peppery French puy lentils go beautifully with the mirepoix, tomatoes, herbs and spinach to finish. The meatballs add a kick to keep things interesting. Plus, for those of you who care, it’s a pretty healthy start for the year. No, it’s not plain leek soup, but it’s balanced. Nutritious and filling and tasty. It’s a great meal to ease you into good habits, as going cold-turkey is a change that’s unlikely to stick or make you very happy in the meantime.

And hey, if you don’t eat lentil soup with sausage meatballs at midnight, don’t see it as a missed opportunity, because this recipe is fantastic anytime for any reason. Tomorrow is just as good for a fresh start as any.

I actually intended to post this recipe last year, but didn’t because the photos weren’t what I wanted, which set up a whole string of posts I meant to put up at a certain time, and failed to do so. I also had hoped to get it up a little earlier this year. Another dose of that realism for me. I didn’t give myself enough time or understanding, and things… spiraled.

Something I’m working on this year ;). For now, I’m mulling it over while the soup simmers.

I’m sure it will continue to evolve, whether it’s me making more changes, or you putting your own spin on this dish in your kitchen.

I hope you set realistic but ambitious goals for yourself this year, and I hope you reach them with a healthy dose of hard work and patience. I hope you’re intentional both in your strides and staying present in the moment. Finally, I hope you have the year you want, with plenty of joy among the ups and downs.

If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you and see it! Leave a comment below, or take a picture and tag me on social media—mine are in the links below if you want to connect!

P.S. Feel free to leave your resolutions in the comments to put it in writing 😉

New Year’s Lentil Soup with Sausage Meatballs

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• Author: Leannda
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Total Time: About an hour
• Yield: 8-10 servings
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Simmering
• Cuisine: Italian

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Description

This savory Italian-inspired soup is filled with earthy lentils, infused with aromatic herbs and peppered with tender meatballs. Lentils are a New Year’s tradition, but this soup is great anytime.

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Ingredients

For the soup

• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 ½ cups dry french puy lentils, rinsed and picked clean
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt plus more to taste
• ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper plus more to taste
• 28-oz can crushed tomatoes with juice
• 1 large sprig fresh rosemary plus 1 teaspoon finely-minced rosemary
• 3 medium sage leaves
• 3 cups spinach, roughly chopped
• Optional: Grated parmesan

For the meatballs

• ½ lb ground turkey
• ½ lb ground sweet Italian pork sausage
• ½ cup Italian style bread crumbs
• ½ cup grated parmesan
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian spices
• 1 egg

Special equipment

• Cheesecloth
• Butchers twine (not necessary, but helpful)

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Instructions

To make the soup

1. Heat a large heavy-bottomed pot (at least 4 quarts) over medium heat, and add the olive oil.
2. Add onions, carrots and celery and sauté for about 10 minutes until fork tender, stirring frequently to avoid sticking to the bottom. Add garlic in the last two minutes.
3. Add lentils and stir until they begin to look dry.
4. Add the bay leaf, minced rosemary, salt, pepper and the crushed tomatoes with juice to the pot and stir, then add eight cups of water. Bring to a slow boil.
5. Meanwhile, wrap the sprig of rosemary and sage leaves up in a bundle with cheese cloth and add it to the pot.
6. Once the soup is boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low. Allow it to simmer for 20 minutes. While the soup simmers, prepare the meatballs (recipe below).
7. After 20 minutes is up, add the meatballs one at a time, followed by the spinach. If some meatballs are uncovered, add enough water to cover them. Bring back to a simmer over medium heat and cook 10 more minutes.
8. Remove the bundle of sage and rosemary and the bay leaf. Serve hot with grated parmesan and black pepper.

To make meatballs

1. Using clean, dry hands, gently mix all ingredients until just combined in a medium to large mixing bowl. Don’t over-mix.
2. Roll mixture loosely into smooth 1-inch balls. They should be firm enough to stay together, but don’t press too hard or they’ll be tough.
3. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Notes

• You can make the meatballs ahead and refrigerate until you’re ready to use them.
• Leftovers freeze well for a healthy meal any time.
• This recipe is also great with brown or regular green lentils. I haven’t tried it with black belugas, but that’s next on the list!

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