Do you sometimes start cooking and end up with something totally different? As a rule breaking-ologist, here’s a simple lentil soup that turned into a lentil minestra (peas, chicken, roasted red onions, sausage and arborio rice).

I kept adding layers:

When I started to the boil the lentils in a medium pot, I decided to add a container of chicken broth (from my freezer). I drained the lentils (after a minute on the stove), and added the chicken broth to a large pot.

The fresh chicken in the refrigerator ended up in the pot too! I simmered for an hour and then turned off the heat. I removed the chicken from the pot (to de-bone and add back to the minestra).

On my way home from running a few errands, I stopped at my favorite Italian deli (Russo’s) and bought fresh crusty Italian bread, a piece of parmigiano cheese and fresh Italian sausage.

I roasted the Italian sausage (make sure you poke them with a fork) and added two red onions (cut in slices) for thirty minutes. I added the roasted onions and sausage(cut into chunks) to the pot. I prepared arborio rice (al dente) and added to the pot. Not to mention, I also added a bag of frozen peas!

I sauteed for additional 5-7 minutes and it was ready to serve. I added freshly grated parmigiano cheese, black pepper and a few pinches of red chili flakes (optional). The finishing touches of fresh crusty Italian bread and red wine to our rustic dinner with friends.

a presto,

maria