Cooking the lentils in red wine adds rich, earthy flavor to this one-dish skillet supper. We prefer French green lentils in this dish—they’re smaller, cook faster and hold their shape better than brown lentils. Look for them in well-stocked supermarkets or natural-foods stores.

Makes 4 servings, about 1 1/2 cups each

ACTIVE TIME: 30 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 1 1/4 hours

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 12-ounce package cooked chicken sausage
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
Pinch of crushed red pepper, or to taste
2 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups red wine
1 cup lentils, preferably French green
12 cups chopped kale leaves, tough stems removed
1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sausages and cook until browned on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes total. Transfer to a clean cutting board.
2. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and onion to the pan and cook until browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add water and wine, increase heat to high and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Add lentils, reduce heat to maintain a simmer, and cook, partially covered, for 40 minutes.
3. Add kale, sage and salt and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until the lentils and kale are tender, about 10 minutes more. Slice the sausage and stir into the pan along with pepper. Cover and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 500 calories; 11 g fat (1 g sat, 3 g mono); 60 mg cholesterol; 58 g carbohydrate; 32 g protein; 16 g fiber; 665 mg sodium; 1,597 mg potassium.
Nutrition bonus: Vitamin A (620% daily value), Vitamin C (410% dv), Folate (79% dv), Potassium (46% dv), Magnesium (34% dv).
3 Carbohydrate Servings
Exchanges: 2 starch, 4 vegetable, 3 lean meat, 1 fat

My husband and I both rate this as a make again dinner. I used a very good hot chicken Italian sausage and added a bit extra red pepper flakes. I also added some big chunks of mushroom to see if it would be good as a vegetarian dish and think with either a mix of mushrooms or with chunked portabello it would be very good.

Ellen, Portland, OR

I've made this twice now, and it's fast turning into one of my favorite one-pot meals! The green lentils really do hold their shape well. I've made it once with chicken sausage and chicken stock for the liquid and once with a vegetarian sausage (Field Roast) and veggie stock, and both versions came out great.

Tara, Weehawken, NJ

This a a very tasty, easy dish. If you see them in the store, try the cranberry/cognac chicken sausages and pair with Coppola Russo - yum!

Deb, Carmel, IN