Of all the wonderful dishes my grandmother Angelina would make when I was growing up, pasta e lenticchie (Pasta and Lentils) was my very favorite. And that’s saying a lot, since she made the world’s best lasagna di Carnevale. I still make pasta e lenticchie on the regular during the colder months. Or any time I’m wanting some culinary comfort.
Angelina’s pasta e lenticchie was very simple, even austere, compared to other versions you might know. But for me it’s the best, as it really allows the pure flavor of lentils to take center stage.
Her recipe involves three more or less simultaneous operations: First, you simmer the lentils in well salted water scented with garlic and a drizzle of olive until tender. Meanwhile, you very gently sauté sliced onions until they’re soft and translucent. Then you cook pasta—in her case it was always linguini broken into short lengths—until slightly underdone. Then you mix all three components together.
And then you wait. Very unusual for a pasta dish, but this one needs time to rest to let the flavors develop and meld. The rest should be at least an hour, but better if it’s even longer. You then gently reheat the pasta when you’re ready to eat. The pasta will not be al dente by modern lights, but almost as tender as the lentils.
It’s a recipe that breaks many of the usual rules of pasta making. And it probably won’t win any beauty contests, either. But trust me, if you like lentils, you’ll love Angelina’s pasta e lenticchie. Pure comfort on a plate.
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
To cook the lentils:
- 250g (8 oz) lentils, soaked overnight
- 1-2 cloves of garlic, slightly crushed and peeled
- olive oil
- A bay leaf
- salt
For the sautéed onions:
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced cross-wise
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- Salt
- Olive oil
For the pasta:
- 250g (8 oz) linguini, broken into short lengths, or other short pasta (see Notes)
- salt
Directions
Simmer the lentils, partially covered, in enough water to cover them by at least 3cm/1 inch, along with a clove or two of garlic, a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt, until fully tender.
Top up with more water from time to time as needed to keep things moist. Stir every so often and as the lentils soften, smash a few against the side of the pot. In the end, the lentils should have absorbed most, but not all of liquid, making a kind of lentil stew.
When the lentils are almost tender, gently sauté the sliced onions in olive oil, until they are very soft and translucent, adding a few drops of water from time to time to avoid browning. Season with a small pinch of salt as you go. Add the sautéed onions to the simmering lentils.
When your lentils and onions done, cook the pasta in abundant, well salted water.
When the pasta is slightly undercooked, drain and add it to the pot with the lentils, along with a good ladleful of the pasta cooking water. Mix well, adjust for seasoning. Turn off the heat.
Let the lentils, onions and pasta mixture rest, covered, for at least an hour. In fact, it tastes even better when you make it in the morning for an evening meal, or the day before.
To serve, add a ladleful of water and re-heat gently until pleasantly warm but not scalding hot. If the pasta is too dry for your taste, add more water to loosen it to your liking.
Notes
Typically, Angelina would break up linguine into short lengths for her pasta e lenticchie, and for me, this dish is never quite right with any other kind of pasta. But of course, you could use broken up spaghetti (easier to find than linguini these days) or—quite common in Naples, pasta mista, or broken bits of leftover pasta all mixed together. Indeed, any sort of small, stubby soups pastas work well, with ditali perhaps the most common, though risoni (usually called ‘orzo’ in the US) or stellette are also fine choices.
Any type of lentils will work. Angelina just used those old fashioned, super cheap flat brown lentils. But these days I prefer the smaller, plumper lentils, green or brown. They have superior flavor and tend to hold their shape better. If you’re feeling fancy, you might go for the prize lentils from Castelluccio. While you can soak lentils if you like to shorten your cooking time, modern lentils don’t really need it. Unsoaked lentils will usually take 45 minutes to an hour simmering to get tender.
The 1:1 ratio of lentils to pasta, provides an ideal balance for my taste. But if you prefer more pasta or more lentils. it’s really up to you.
The onion should provide a depth and savor to, but not compete with, the lentils. You shouldn’t be able to taste the onion as a separate element, which is why it’s best to slice them thinly across the grain, so they turn so soft they will basically dissolve into the dish. And in this case, don’t be tempted to add more than the recipe calls for.
While the recipe is pretty simple, it can be a bit tricky to get the seasoning right. Each component (lentils, pasta, onions) needs some salt to ‘shine’. But be careful not to overdo it, which is all too easy when you’re seasoning three times. I’d go easy at first, then taste carefully right after you’ve mixed it all together and add salt as needed.
Variations
You can serve pasta e lenticchie perfectly dry or almost soupy, or any where in between, depending on your tastes. Personally, I like it somewhere in the middle, loose and even slippery but still very much a pastasciutta.
There are all manner of possible variations on this basic recipe. While Angelina’s version was vegan (many years before the term was coined) it is very common these days to add a bit of cured pork, usually in the form of pancetta, to sauté along with the onions. If you’re feeling really carnivous, a crumbled sausage or two will make turn this dish into a real stick to the ribs meal.
Tomato, either fresh or concentrate, is also a common addition, though Angelina’s version was strictly in bianco and I much prefer it that way. For extra flavor, you could throw in a leftover rind of parmigiano-reggiano to simmer with the lentils. Some also add a bit of dried chili pepper for a bit of a kick. Ditto for green herbs like parsley or rosemary.
In Rome, they make a brothy pasta e lenticchie, more of a soup than a pastasciutta. You start with a soffritto of pancetta, onion, carrots and celery, then add tomato, followed by broth. Then the pasta, usually tubetti, goes in. They serve this soup topped with grated cheese. It’s really quite good, but a very different dish.
All of these variations add layers of flavor in one way or another to this very basic recipe. If I’m honest, many people might find these variations tastier. But for me, nothing can top the pure flavors of Angelina’s simple take on this classic dish.
Post scriptum
This post is a revised and updated version of one of my very first blog posts published back in June 2009. While the recipe hasn’t changed, of course, my recipe writing and photography skills have.
Pasta e lenticchie
Ingredients
To cook the lentils:
- 250 g 8 oz lentils, soaked overnight
- 1-2 cloves of garlic slightly crushed and peeled
- olive oil
- A bay leaf
- salt
For the sautéed onions:
- 1 medium onion thinly sliced
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- Salt
- Olive oil
For the pasta:
- 250 g 8 oz linguini, broken into short lengths, or other short pasta (see Notes)
Instructions
- Simmer the lentils, partially covered, in enough water to cover them by at least 3cm/1 inch, along with a clove or two of garlic, a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt, until fully tender. Top up with more water from time to time as needed to keep things moist. Stir every so often and as the lentils soften, smash a few against the side of the pot. In the end, the lentils should have absorbed most, but not all of liquid, making a kind of lentil stew.
- When the lentils are almost tender, gently sauté the sliced onions in olive oil, until they are very soft and translucent, adding a few drops of water from time to time to avoid browning. Season with a small pinch of salt as you go. Add the sautéed onions to the simmering lentils.
- When your lentils and onions are done, cook the pasta in abundant, well salted water.
- When the pasta is slightly undercooked, drain and add it to the pot with the lentils, along with a good ladleful of the pasta cooking water. Mix well, adjust for seasoning. Turn off the heat.
- Let the lentils, onions and pasta mixture rest, covered, for at least an hour. In fact, it tastes even better when you make it in the morning for an evening meal, or the day before.
- To serve, add a ladleful of water and re-heat gently until pleasantly warm but not scalding hot. If the pasta is too dry for your taste, add more water to loosen it to your liking.
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So, so simple yet somehow different to any such dish I have had before. Love lentils not just for health (yes, am pretty nutty that way these days :)!) but for the taste and the sautéed onions would bring it all together! Thanks for the idea and the story .. .
Have never tried the combo of legumes and pasta together in a dish…looks like a very comforting meal!
Funnily enough, I made this for my husband just this week. He’s a vegetarian so it’s nice to get all that protein in for him. I just used spaghetti. Delicious and cheap!
Are the lentils dry after cooking? Or do you want them somewhat brothy at the end to mix in with the pasta? I love your recipes!
This looks delicious. I will pass it on to my stepmother who often cooks for some Carmeltie nuns. The recipe looks perfect for the days where they don’t eat fish (they don’t eat meat at all) …and of course, I will be cooking pasta e lenticchie for myself!
This sounds perfect for this brutal January weather!
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