Of all the wonderful dishes my grandmother Angelina would make when I was growing up, this was my very favorite. And that’s saying a lot, since she made incredible lasagna di carnevale. Angelina’s pasta e lenticche (pasta and lentils) was very simple to make but involved three more or less simultaneous operations.
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
- 250g (8 oz) lentils, soaked overnight
- 250g (8 oz) linguini, broken into short lengths or other pasta (see Notes)
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- Salt
- Olive oil
Directions
First, you simmer the lentils in enough water to cover them by at least an inch, along with a clove or two of garlic and a drop of olive oil, until tender, then season well.
Second, while the lentils are simmering, you saute lots of sliced onions in olive oil. Season these, too.
Third, when your lentils and onions are almost done, you cook the pasta.
When the pasta is slightly undercooked, add it to the pot with the lentils, then add the sauteed onions along with a good ladleful of the pasta cooking water. Mix well, adjust for seasoning, and let it ‘rest’, covered and off-heat, for at least an hour to let the favors develop. In fact, it tastes even better when you make it in the morning for an evening meal, or the day before. (Yes, you heard that right: this recipes breaks all the usual rules for making pasta.)
Re-heat gently when you’re ready to eat.
Notes on Pasta and Lentils
Typically, Angelina would break up linguine into short lengths for her Pasta and Lentils, and for me, this dish is never quite right with any other kind of pasta. But, of course, you can use all sorts of small, stubby pastas like ditali or even a tiny soup pasta like risoni (usually called ‘orzo’ in the US) or stellette.
The only tricky part to this dish, besides getting the lentil-to-pasta ratio to your taste, is to season each component (lentils, pasta, onions) well, as they all need salt to ‘shine’. But be careful not to overdo it; the seasoning in each component somehow comes out stronger when they are combined.
There are all manner of possible variations on this basic recipe for Pasta and Lentils. The other day I had some stuff in the fridge that I needed to use, and felt like a more elaborate version of this dish. So I simmered the lentils with a sprig of fresh bay leaves and a chunk of ‘country ham’ (pancetta or guanciale would also do nicely) for extra depth of flavor. (When it was cooked, I boned and diced the ham and added it to the pasta.) And I added a bit of crushed tomato to the sauteed onions. The result was not a ‘pure’ as Angelina’s original version, but awfully good. This variation on Pasta and Lentils is actually quite close to the pasta e lenticchie you could sometimes find on the menu at family-run trattorie in Rome. There, the dish is more of a soup, and the pasta something like tubetti. Pancetta and tomato are usually included in the flavoring base. The soup is served with grated cheese, something that we never had with Angelina’s version.
Angelina’s pasta e lenticchie (Pasta and Lentils)
Ingredients
- 250 g 8 oz lentils, soaked overnight
- 250 g 8 oz linguini, broken into short lengths or other pasta (see Notes)
- 1 medium onion thinly sliced
- Salt
- Olive oil
Instructions
- First, you simmer lentils in enough water to cover them by at least an inch, along with garlic and a drop of olive oil, until tender, then season well.
- Second, while the lentils are simmering, you saute lots of sliced onions in olive oil. Season these, too.
- Third, when your lentils and onions are almost done, you cook the pasta.
- When the pasta is slightly undercooked, add it to the pot with the lentils, then add the sauteed onions along with a good ladleful of the pasta cooking water. Mix well, adjust for seasoning, and let it 'rest', covered, for at least an hour to let the favors develop. In fact, it tastes even better when you make it in the morning for an evening meal, or the day before. (Yes, you heard that right: this recipes breaks all the usual rules for making pasta.)
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21 Comments on “Angelina’s pasta e lenticchie (Pasta and Lentils)”
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Just the way my mother made it.
Then it must have been delicious, Joe! Thanks for your comment.
What kind of lentils should I use? The look brown.
Angelina always used good old brown lentils. But I’ve made this dish quite successfully with green lentils as well.
I was so excited to make this for New Year’s! It’s resting now. Made it with kamut pasta from Italy for extra health benefits. Next up, the lentil ragu!
Fabulous. Hope you enjoy both.
In the final step, when the meal is “resting” is it off heat? Thanks.
Definitely, off heat. You then reheat it gently to eat.
Frank,
Your grandmother Angelina was very wise to prepare this dish for you..lentils are packed full of fibre and protein, and many other good things. It helped you to grow up to be the man you are today.
I hope to try this soon, not being a big meat eater, and surfeited with rich food over the holidays, this will be a welcome respite. I just need to buy the lentils.
Served with tomatoes, I’ve been told, (as in a salad),will double the iron in the lentils.
Happy new year, and thank you for your recipes and teachings. You are very much appreciated!
Carol
Thanks so much for the kind words, Carol. And Happy New Year to you and yours!
My dad use to make lentils and macaroni on Friday’s when I was growing up since at that time as Catholics we couldn’t eat meat that day. I always loved it. Now 60 yrs later during this pandemic I looked for a recipe since my dad never left any written recipes and I found yours. It is what I remember . My dad used elbow macaroni. I have made your recipe 3 times now twice adding spinach and one without. I put a lot of garlic and hot pepper flakes.we love it. Thank you for sharing.ann
So glad this came in handy for you, Ann. I love helping people recreate their lost family recipes. And this is one of my all time favorites, even after all these years!
Frank,
Last night I made this dish and it turned out very well.
I followed the recipe except I substituted with Ditalini pasta.
I also put in some diced celery and some cooked diced bacon
for some extra flavor.
Can remember growing up, both my grandmothers making pasta e lenticchie
occasionally and using a similar recipe that your grandmother has used for this
dish.
Leo
Happy to hear it, Leo!
Confused about “simmering” of th lentils but no mention of water for that.. do you mean a gentle fry instead?
Sorry, yes, water to cover the lentils by an inch or so. Added that to the recipe!
Thank you so much for sharing this. My mother used to make this. She learned to make it from my grandmother. Her recipe is very similar, but she used garlic instead of onion and added 8 ounces of tomato sauce to the olive oil & garlic. It’s so nice to see other variations and to know that other people make this dish!
Frank, you mention garlic in the directions, but I do not see it in the ingredient list.
Just salt and pepper… Enjoy!
Thank you, Frank, for sharing this delicious sounding recipe. Just one question for you. Can you tell me what seasonings you use? You keep saying “season well”, but I'm not sure what to add.
Thanks,
Elizabeth Proctor
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada