Grilled Sausage with Lentils and Spinach

This has quickly become one of my favorite dishes. I make it about once a week. It's quick and easy to prepare too (well, quick and easy by my standards). I think if you can make a dish in under an hour that's sure to impress the guests, that's pretty darn good. I love this dish too because if you grill the sausage you only have a single pot to clean up afterward.

Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 45 mins
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 bunch spinach, stems trimmed and well washed
1 lb. Italian sausage (4 links)
1 c. green or red lentils
2 celery stalks, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. chicken broth
1 c. dry white wine
6 sprigs Italian parsley, finely chopped
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
Mascarpone cheese

In a medium size pot, saute the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, salt, and pepper in olive oil over medium heat until it begins to brown and stick to the bottom of the pot. Add the wine and as it simmers, scrape the bottom of the pot. Add chicken broth and lentils and bring to a simmer. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.

At the 30 minute mark, start cooking the sausage. My preferred method is on the grill. If cooking indoors, I like to boil it for about 10 minutes to release some of the fat and keep it moist as it cooks, then brown it in a pan for about 5 minutes before serving. (As an aside, the water for the sausage can have other uses, like boiling potatoes for mashing.)

At the 40 minute mark, add the chopped parsley to the lentils; stir and cover. Then saute the spinach. Here's the best method I've found. Coat the bottom of a pan (with a tight fitting lid) with olive oil. As it comes up to temperature, layer in a couple hand fulls of spinach. Sprinkle with salt. Put the lid on for about 30 seconds; the salt should draw out the moisture in the spinach so it wilts quickly. Take the lid off, and add another couple hand fulls, sprinkle with salt, stir it in, and repeat the process until all the spinach is nicely and uniformly wilted but still retains some texture. Finish with ground pepper and immediately remove from heat. The whole process should take less than 5 minutes.

At the 45 minute mark, you're ready to serve. The lentils will be cooked. Your sausage should be done. And the spinach is perfect. Spoon a couple ladles of lentils into a shallow bowl (pasta bowls work wonderfully). Add a dollop of mascarpone to the center of the dish, followed by a layer of spinach, and topped with a sausage link. As you cut into the sausage, the mascarpone will melt and mingle nicely with the rest of the dish.

Pairs nicely with a rich Chardonnay or Pino Noir. You could even go with a nice old vine Malbec. Or if you prefer beer, try it with a nice strong and malty concoction, like Dead Guy or Kilt Lifter.