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Pasta e Lenticchie

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Don't even ask me how to pronounce this recipe, all I know is that it was yummy!! LOL I saw this on the TLC show "The Kitchen Boss" a couple of months ago and thought it looked really good so then when I saw it again recently I decided to make it. It came out so good and it wasn't really hard! Even Anna really liked it!

I'm not sure I have many notes on this recipe, I made it according to the directions and it came out. The online recipe does call for water but someone commented that in the episode he used chicken broth and that sounded a lot better so I did that and that is reflected in my ingredient list. The only other thing I did different was I didn't use the optional Parmesan rind.

Pasta e Lenticchie
1 Tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
2 slices extra thick cut bacon, cut into dice (I used 3 slices of Oscar Mayer thick cut)
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 stalk celery, chopped fine
1 carrot, peeled and chopped fine
salt
2 plump garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 cup brown lentils
1- 14.5 oz can plum tomatoes with their juice cut or torn into pieces (I just bought crushed plum tomatoes)
5 Cups chicken broth
Chunk of Parmesan rind (optional)
1 cup just undercooked (or cooked al dente), drained and rinsed (to stop the cooking) ditalini, or other small pasta shape (one cup before cooking)

Heat a large soup pot over medium heat. Add olive oil and bacon and stir to coat bacon in oil. Allow to cook until softened and some fat is rendered. Add the celery, carrots and onions and stir to coat. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and saute until softened. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant. Next add the lentils and just stir to coat then stir in the tomatoes, water, a pinch of salt and Parmesan rind (if using). Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally for about 20-30 minutes until lentils are just tender. Add the pasta and continue cooking another 10 minutes or until the pasta is cooked to taste. Adjust the seasoning with salt and serve.

I served with a bit of shredded Parmesan on top and some good Italian bread on the side. (Buddy also recommends a drizzle of good, fruity olive oil and fresh grated black pepper on top)

Original recipe as found on the Kitchen Boss TLC website:
http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/pasta-e-lenticchie-recipe.htm

3 comments:

I made this a few days ago and we really liked it. I didn't use the full cup of lentils because I had soaked the lentils all day and because of that they expanded which made it seem like way more than a cup! I wasn't sure if my kids or husband would like them so I only used about 3/4 of a cup. Because of this, the overall dish came out pretty soupy...it occurred to me after the fact that I could have added some tomato paste to thicken it up! My kids actually ate it and hubby enjoyed it so we will make it again! Always good to have lentil recipes!! Thanks for sharing!

It does come out soupy, it's sort of a stew I guess, great as leftovers if there's any left! Also, you don't need to soak the lentils. The recipe is actually calling for dried lentils, like you buy in a bag at the store, when you add them they will cook and expand and soak up the broth and flavors. They just take about 20-30 minutes total to get tender from the time you put them in (dry).
You could technically also cook the pasta this way but pasta soaks up soooooo much more liquid and often it isn't worth it but I did slightly undercook the pasta so it wouldn't be really overcooked but still soak up some of the cooking liquid.

hi michelle, I have no idea how it happened but i became a follow using my siste's email... she hasn't been here in months!? Anyway, I'm trying to follow not S.

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