Pasta and Lentils.

A hearty and nutritious dish which can be seasonally adapted and made with various substitutions, this is home cooking at its best.

Pasta e lenticchie.

Pulses and pasta go together like pizza and pomodoro in Italy, and especially in the South where both are a familial staple, together often served weekly traditionally on Monday nights. 

This is a very simple preparation, for which similar methods exist with dried chickpeas and fresh borlotti beans. As with all simple Italian dishes few tricks make each of these different pastas with pulses into exceptionally flavourful comfort food and a reliable repertoire for any home kitchen. Its winning card is that it can be made without stock (the most dependable way to a delicious meal), with relatively simple ingredients, keeps and improves over the coming days can be served in a myriad ways. 

The dish can be made as soupy or dry as desired and can either be flavoured with ham or a parmesan rind, the quality of which will make all of the difference. It is a good idea to make the sofrito with a small amount of good quality lard in any case, for extra flavour – something that is almost always done in Southern Italy, where lard (known as ‘strutto’) is often the go to fat for cooking, as an economical way of adding both animal fat and flavour to any dish. Other flavours can be added with herbs depending on personal taste, such as thyme or rosemary in the colder months or basil in the summer. I know a Neapolitan foodie who adds some fish sauce to his pasta e lenticchie, and a Palermitan lady who adds fennel seeds to hers. The tomatoes can also be altered according the season: in the summer-time this is makes a delicious supper eaten lukewarm topped with some fresh cherry tomatoes (and aforementioned basil), which really brighten up the flavours, and in winter cooked with passata, for heartier results. A good, much-loved Italian habit is to use the celery leaves, which easily add some greenery, and I’m a big fan of chopping the carrots quite chunky, more of a stylistic point which adds extra colour to an otherwise fairly brown dish, but also contributes additional texture and taste. As for the pasta, it is key that a mix of shapes is used – while this was traditionally a clever way of using up the small leftovers from different packs, it is again critical in adding some movement.

My favourite trick in this recipe from Giuseppe Mascoli - a much seasoned Neapolitan foodie - is to crush and mix in some raw garlic into the dish at the end – something that would be quite scandalous North of Naples, this is a lovely way to add some freshness to an otherwise hearty meal.

This is delicious served warm, not piping hot and should always always always be drizzled with raw, extra virgin olive oil on the plate a moment before serving. And as most Southern Italian, cucina povera/home-kitchen classics, enjoyed with a spoon.

MENU SUGGESTIONS.

This is particularly delicious followed by sausages slow cooked in tomato sauce and red wine, another much-loved southern Italian preparation. Or a ham hock or game. Some grilled cacciocavallo or camembert, perhaps with rosemary, or a stuffed tomatoes or peppers will also go nicely. 

It is a good idea to make a large quantity – as always – and only cook the pasta for the quantity that will be eaten immediately. The left-over lentils will be improve over the next two days, and can even be frozen. They will dry as they stand – so you might like to make it slightly juicy on the first day, and enjoy it drier the following day. 

RECIPE.

Ingredients:

Serves 6

Onion, 1

Bay leaf, 2

Celery, 2 stalks

Carrot, 2

Garlic, 2/3 clovers

Tomatoes, a small handful

Lentils 300g

Pasta 300g

Parmesan rind, one

Thyme, olive oil, salt, pepper

1. Finely chop the onion and celery stalks. Chop the carrot into large chunks. 

2. Add some olive oil and a spoon of lard to a pan and cook the vegetables until translucent.

3. Slice the celery leaves and add to the pan, together with the tomatoes for the last 2 minutes. Squish the tomatoes with the back of a spoon to let out their juices.

4. Add the lentils, a large parmesan rind, thyme sprig and cover with water and cook for 15 minutes, until the lentils are soft. Check the water quantities as you cook the lentils, adding extra boiling water if you need to, depending on how soupy you want to make it. Check the seasoning and salt.

5. Then add the pasta and cook according to instruction – you might need to cook for longer, given that there will be less water.

6. When the pasta is cooked, take off the heat and leave to stand for a minute. Then and add a few drizzles of olive oil, black pepper and crushed raw garlic.

7. Plate and serve with extra olive oil on the plate.