Makes 5-6 bowls
Play with the ratios for ingredients as much as you like, all up to preference.
1 lb Smoked sausage
A little olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, diced
6 Cloves garlic, crushed
2 lb Chicken thighs
1 lb Lentils
48 oz Chicken stock
28 oz Diced Tomatoes
1/2 tsp sugar
1 Tablespoon Thyme
2 tsp hot sauce
1 Tablespoon red pepper flakes
Thought I should contribute something before I try out my hand at Gumbo, this is probably my favorite dish I can make. Great for meal prep, reheats well, and has a lot of protein if you care about that.
– Nick
Before anything else, cook chicken thighs in the oven at 350 until they hit 150 degrees internal. Usually about 30 min, but I’m not quite sure (I have a food thermometer). You’ll probably want to shave off the major portions of fat on the thighs before you bake them.
Cut sausage into half circles, about 1/4 in thick. Cook in two batches in your saute pan on medium high heat, cook until some color is on the sausage, about 4-5 min. Add olive oil + half the onions/garlic and pick up whatever fond (color) is left in the pan. The more fond you get into the onions, the better your results will be. This is much easier in a pan without a nonstick coating. Take care not to let the fond burn either, as that can ruin the soup.
Add all ingredients except for the lentils into a pot. Keeping it covered, bring it up to a simmer and then add your lentils. Cook covered until the lentils are soft, but not mushy (about 25 min). If the broth is running too low you can always just add water back to the soup. Serve with your favorite bread, for dipping and tearing into the soup.