1 pound Italian sausage
1 (8 ounce) package dry egg noodles
1 cup pizza sauce
2 (5 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup chopped lentils
3/4 cup freshly roasted roasted tomatoes
1 bunch fresh basil, chopped
1/2 small red onion, diced
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup chopped basil (optional)
5 cups water
1 (28 ounce) can tomato sauce (or water)
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste (or water)
salt and pepper to taste
Season sausage with dry egg noodles. In large pot, combine sausage, tomato sauce, basil, oregano, ground black pepper and 2 cups of lentils. Cover and cook till evenly brown. Stir in broth, tomatoes, basil and onion. Simmer 5 cups of soup; add tomatoes, chickpeas, salt and pepper and heat through until almost done. Let cool.
Blend tomato, tomato sauce with water and tomato paste. Gradually add broth and tomato paste, gradually to desired consistency. Thoroughly stir in cooked sausage. Add cooked sauce to soup and simmer until quite cold. Allow meat to cool, then add lentils and stir well. Heat tomato sauce again over top, or in small saucepan, saute for 2 more minutes.
Return to stockpot, heat while remaining soup is cooking. This may take 4 hours. Remove sauce from heat after 1 hour. Add more lentils, tomato paste or tomato paste, if necessary. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer until lentil mixture thickens, 3 hours or more.