Pasta with Lentils, or Pasta e Lenticchie: Everyone knows about pasta e fagioli, pasta and beans. Pasta and Lentils is an equally tasty soup. The recipe is from Lazio, the region governed by Rome.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- Lentils (precise amounts given below)
- Pasta
- Herbs
Preparation:
Pick over the lentils well to remove stones or other impurities. Soak them for several hours, and then boil them until partially cooked in lightly salted water.
In the meantime, set another pot on the fire and sauté a minced mixture of prosciutto fat, garlic, onion, celery and carrot. Add tomato, and when the mixture begins to dry out, beef bullion.
It will then be time to add the lentils and their broth. A pinch of pepper, and shortly before the lentils are completely done (in other words, before they're soft), add the pasta. Tradition dictates that broken strands of spaghetti are acceptable too. Once the soup is done serve it up into bowls, with a cruet of extravirgin olive oil so your diners can add it to taste. Grated cheese doesn't figure into this.
My Italian source doesn't give quantities. I'd figure a pound (500 g) of dried lentils, and about a pound of pasta, and make my minced mixture with 2 ounces (50 g) prosciutto, 1-2 cloves garlic, a small carrot, 6 inches of celery stick, a half a medium-sized onion, and a couple blanched peeled seeded and hopped plum tomatoes. Boil the lentils in water to cover, and have more handy if they absorb it all as they cook.
In the meantime, set another pot on the fire and sauté a minced mixture of prosciutto fat, garlic, onion, celery and carrot. Add tomato, and when the mixture begins to dry out, beef bullion.
It will then be time to add the lentils and their broth. A pinch of pepper, and shortly before the lentils are completely done (in other words, before they're soft), add the pasta. Tradition dictates that broken strands of spaghetti are acceptable too. Once the soup is done serve it up into bowls, with a cruet of extravirgin olive oil so your diners can add it to taste. Grated cheese doesn't figure into this.
My Italian source doesn't give quantities. I'd figure a pound (500 g) of dried lentils, and about a pound of pasta, and make my minced mixture with 2 ounces (50 g) prosciutto, 1-2 cloves garlic, a small carrot, 6 inches of celery stick, a half a medium-sized onion, and a couple blanched peeled seeded and hopped plum tomatoes. Boil the lentils in water to cover, and have more handy if they absorb it all as they cook.
