Pasta e Lenticchie is one of those dishes that quickly becomes a family favorite. It’s a thick and hearty traditional Italian pasta dish that never fails to satisfy. We begin with the holy trinity of Italian cooking: soffritto. In Italian it means the slow frying of onions, carrots and celery. We follow this by adding garlic, lentils, tomatoes and spices cooked in either chicken or vegetable broth. This powerfully aromatic mixture fills the house with all those feel-good, home-cooking smells.
Seriously, if they bottled that, I’d spray it everywhere including in my car. Ha! Eh, on second thought…maybe not.
Pasta e Lenticchie is my go-to recipe for when I didn’t plan ahead or no one thought about dinner.
Pasta e Lenticchie: Dinner in under an hour
This is a great “under an hour” dish because it requires the common ingredients most everyone has on hand. This is why adding a bag of lentils to your mainstays is a great idea. (Check out my post: How To Stock A Complete Pantry.) I make this instead of a phone call to the pizza place and it’s always a hit.
You can follow along with my seasoning recommendations or adjust them to your liking. That’s the beauty of these kinds of dishes, there’s no wrong way to do them (unless you really, really try).
Pasta e Lenticchie is a simple, child-friendly dish that isn’t heavy-handed in flavors or seasoning. It’s a smooth and almost creamy treat with no surprises or “weird stuff” that children often object to. Trust me, anything that was heavy on strong cheeses or Brussels’ sprouts did not go well in my house. However, this always made everything better on cold, wintry days. It just tastes like “home” to me.
Vary it up by adding your favorite leafy green like chopped spinach, kale, even Swiss chard or asparagus. You can also vary the amount of herbs if you prefer more basil or more thyme.
I’d love for you to give this one a try. I guarantee Pasta e Lenticche will become a most-requested staple in your home. It’s got all the right “feel good” aromas, tastes and textures.
If, on the off chance, you get any complaints, you can always point to the number for the pizza place on the fridge.
Have a great meal!
Tracy from Real Not Perfect
How to Make Italian Comfort Food: Pasta e Lenticchie (Pasta and Lentils)
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried lentils, rinsed
- 1 small onion, chopped fine
- 1 stalk celery chopped fine
- 1 carrot chopped fine
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 lb pasta
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, on medium-high heat, saute onions, celery and carrot in 2 tbsp olive oil until translucent about 4-5 minutes.
- Add garlic and saute for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add lentils, oregano, basil, bay leaf and tomatoes. Stir and cook for about 3 minutes.
- Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about 40 minutes until the lentils are tender.
- In the meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add a tbsp of salt to the water and allow the water to return to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to the package directions. When the spaghetti is cooked, drain the spaghetti and return it to the pot and pour half the lentils over the spaghetti and toss.
- Transfer to individual bowls and top each bowl with more lentils, grated Parmesan and parsley.
