Go Back
–+ servings
Pasta with lentils
4.67 from 21 votes

Pasta e lenticchie – Pasta with lentils

It belongs to those filling one-pot dishes that traditionally pair pasta and pulses, made with simple, pantry ingredients that, when put together, give more than the sum of their parts.
Course First course, Main
Cuisine Italian
Keyword bread soup, lentils, pasta
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 6 people

Ingredients

  • 300 grams (1 ½ cups) brown lentils
  • 2 l (8 ½ cups) water
  • 1 stalk celery
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 300 grams (10 ½ oz) spaghetti
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
  • ½ tablespoon tomato paste*
  • Fine sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  • Rinse the lentils under running water, then tip them into a medium pot. Cover them with water, add the celery stalk and the bay leaves, and bring to a boil on medium flame.
  • When the water is boiling, reduce the heat to a minimum, and simmer for about 25 minutes until the lentils are cooked through. Taste one of the lentils: it should be buttery soft, not grainy. Fish out the celery stalk and the bay leaves, then season with salt and pepper. You can make pasta and lenticchie now, or set the lentils aside for later. Keep them in the fridge for up to two days.
  • When ready to make pasta e lenticchie, collect the spaghetti in a clean kitchen towel, wrap them, and break them into 4 cm pieces. Set them aside.
  • Pour the olive oil into a medium pot, add the crushed cloves of garlic, and heat on medium heat until fragrant. Pour in the lentils with their cooking water, add the tomato paste, and bring to a boil. Keep a small pot with boiling water aside, as you might need to add some more water when you add the pasta.
  • Add the broken spaghetti, stir through, and cook the pasta according to the packaging instructions, about 10 to 12 minutes, until the soup is thick, so dense a spoon could stand in it. Should it become too thick, or if the spaghetti absorbed all the water before being ready, add some hot water.
  • Ladle into serving bowls and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
  • Any leftover can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days and gently reheated before serving.
Tried this recipe?We love to see your creations! Snap a pic and tag @julskitchen and hashtag it #myseasonaltable!

Notes

* Tomato paste could be substituted with 4 cherry tomatoes, halved, added along with garlic.