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Lentils and Sausages

A hearty stew of lentils and sausages simmered with tomato purée, garlic, celery, and chilli pepper.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Tomato and olive are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,539 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

Lentils and Sausages

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the lentils

  1. Soak the lentils in water for 12 hours.

  2. Drain the lentils.

  3. Cook the lentils in salted water for about 30 minutes.

  4. When the lentils are nearly cooked, add 1 clove garlic and a piece of celery.

  5. Remove the lentils from the heat while they are still slightly al dente.

Make the sauce and cook

  1. Mince the remaining garlic clove and the rest of the celery.

  2. Fry the minced garlic and celery gently with the olive oil in a saucepan over moderate to low heat for 3–4 minutes.

  3. Increase the heat slightly, add the sausages, and brown them for 3 minutes.

  4. Pour in the tomato purée and the chilli pepper.

  5. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the sausages are nearly done.

  6. Add the lentils, a cup of water, and season with salt.

  7. Cover the pot and let it gain flavour over low heat for about 20 minutes, moistening if necessary with boiling water.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

573Calories
23 gProtein
41 gFat
30 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Sausage100g cooked301
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Lentil1/2 cup cooked (99g)115
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Tomato + olivetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  2. Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  3. Tomato + garlictop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  4. Lentils + garlictop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together633 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Tomato + celerytop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,377 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Lentils
Provide the main body of the stew and a firm, slightly al dente bite.
Sausages
Add meaty flavour and fat, browning in the pan to deepen the taste.
Tomato purée
Adds acidity, body and savoury depth to the stew's sauce.
Olive oil
Carries the aromatics and adds fat for smooth flavour in the frying stage.
Garlic
Adds aroma and pungency that mellows as it fries gently in oil.

The step that matters

Remove the lentils from the heat while still slightly al dente. Lentils keep softening in their own residual heat and will keep cooking once added to the stew. Pulling them early, while still firm, stops them turning mushy during the final simmer, so they keep their shape and texture.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lentils, tomato, olive, garlic, celery, pepper):

  1. Cuminfits better
  2. Oreganofits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against lentils, tomato, olive, garlic, celery, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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