Serious Eats: Recipes
Meat Lite: Lentils with Caramelized Leeks and Sausage
Editor's note: Philadelphia food writers Joy Manning and Tara Mataraza Desmond drop by each week with Meat Lite, which celebrates meat in moderation. Meat Lite was inspired by their book, Almost Meatless.
I am no fan of any food stuff that comes with some sort of "flavoring packet." You know, the pouch of powdery who-knows-what that comes with your boxed rice and couscous. But with a recipe like this, when so much of the final flavor comes from the type of sausage you choose, I'm compelled to compare sausage to a flavoring packet. Good sausage can take all the work out of jazzing up and flavoring a simple dish like this one. I love a fatty, garlicky, spicy Italian link, but fresh chorizo would be just killer in this preparation. So choose your sausage wisely. The quality of the finished product, especially in a recipe that goes easy on the meat, depends on it.
About the author: Joy Manning is the restaurant critic at Philadelphia Magazine. She blogs at whatiweightoday.com.
