Curried Apple & Leek Soup with Sausage

If I may be so bold, I have to say that this is the best soup I've ever made--and I made it up, too! I've been looking for a nice vegetarian soup for a friend who's joining us for an evening tomorrow in the country, and found a curried apple soup online. Then I find out that, no, the friend is NOT a vegetarian and would eat any meat we put in front of him. So I went to Whole Foods and picked up some fresh Curried Thai Chicken Sausage, as well as a bottle of organic apple juice. I also visited the Union Square Farmer's Market and picked up some Matsui apples, leeks, and celery. Farmer's market celery is almost too good to be true. Just smelling it is amazing. This soup would be delicious without the meat, too. Here's the recipe.

Curried Apple & Leek Soup

1 large leek, chopped
4 apples, peeled, cored, and diced
4 stalks of celery, chopped
3 tbsp curry powder
2 tbsp butter
2 cups of vegetable broth
1 cup of orange/red lentils
1 cup of apple juice

Boil the lentils with 2 cups of vegetable broth. Heat the butter and the curry powder in a large sautee pan. Add the chopped leek, apples, and celery. Cook until just starting to brown a bit and then add the lentils to the mix along with the cup of apple juice. Simmer until everything is super tender. Turn off the heat and cool a bit. Once manageable, place the mixture in a blender and blend until it reaches your desired smoothness. Taste it. It should be super yummy. If you like, sautee 1 lb of sausage on the side and dump it into the soup. OMG. Delicious.