In our family, the kitchen is our home base. It is the place we go to for celebrations, for comfort, to heal, or just to talk and listen. It is also, naturally, the place we gravitate to during difficult times. And when we need extra comfort, pasta is nearly always one of the first ingredients we reach toward.
Lately my family has been in need of that extra comfort. I’ve been cooking a lot of comforting rice dishes, soups, and, of course, pasta. This week I sought comfort in a dish that I’ve been trying to master for a few months, and I think I may have finally gotten it right. I first came across pasta and lentils in Tembi Locke’s book From Scratch. Her mother in-law serves her Ditalini con Lenticchie whenever she arrives in Sicily. Although I love ditalini (I grew up eating it in a lot of soups), I wanted to play around with different ways of making this dish, including trying different pasta shapes.
After testing various ways of cooking pasta and lentils, this is what I learned.
- Cooking the pasta in the same pot as the lentils is best. The starch from the pasta helps create a cohesive and almost creamy sauce with the lentils.
- Using a pasta that is larger than ditalini but still short (think ziti, rigatoni, tortiglioni) helps create a nice contrast with the small lentils. I used tortiglioni on this most recent experiment and loved the result.
- Adding a little butter and parmesan or pecorino at the end helps make the lentil sauce even creamier and richer. If you want to keep this vegan, though, you can absolutely skip this step and still have delicious results.
- A splash of acid at the end is nice and helps bring everything together. A little red wine vinegar or lemon does the trick.
I’ll honestly say that I don’t feel like this is a perfect, no-need-to-change-a-thing recipe. It is the type of recipe that I will continue to play with over time, but I’m sharing it now, as it is, for it brought me so much comfort, and I hope it will do the same for you.
Pasta and lentils cooked together to create an almost creamy and very comforting dish. When I have the time, I like to start by soaking the lentils. It makes the lentils cook a little faster, but this step is optional. Rinse the lentils and place them in a bowl. Cover them with water. Soak for about an hour. Drain when ready to use. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium low heat. I always eyeball the oil - just a couple of tablespoons is all you need. Add the onion. Take the diced celery and carrot and add it to a food processor or ninja. Pulse it just a couple of times until the celery and carrot is finely chopped but not mushy. Add the carrots and celery to the pot with the onions, along with a pinch of salt, a few grinds of pepper, and a pinch or two of red pepper flakes, if you like some heat. Saute everything for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and rosemary and saute for another minute. Add the tomato paste and the drained lentils. Stir until the lentils are coated with the tomato paste. Let it cook for a minute or two. Add 6 cups of water and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down so that the lentils gently simmer. Cook for about 20 - 25 minutes, or until the lentils are tender. Once the lentils are tender, add a cup of water, the pasta, and a generous pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Cook the pasta and lentils until the pasta is al dente (probably about 9 - 12 minutes, depending on the pasta shape). If the pasta absorbs too much water before it is cooked, add a little extra water. Finish the pasta by stirring in 2 tablespoons of butter and some parmesan. If you want to keep the pasta vegan, add a little more olive oil instead. Add a couple handfuls of chopped parsley and a splash of red wine vinegar or a little bit of lemon juice. Taste and see if it needs more salt or acid. Garnish each serving with extra parmesan or pecorino, if you wish. Enjoy!Pasta and Lentils (Pasta e Lenticchie)
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading...Ingredients
Instructions
