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Pasta e lenticchie
Pasta and lentil stew
Pasta e lenticchie: Naples's thick one-pot stew of short pasta and lentils
In Naples, pasta with legumes is weekday food, and pasta e lenticchie is the one every family makes in winter: small lentils cooked with garlic, celery and a little tomato until soft, then mixed short pasta (pasta mista, the broken ends of different shapes) is cooked right in the pot until thick and creamy. Lentils also bring luck for the New Year, so many families make it on 1 January. Chef's tip: cook the pasta in the lentils with only just enough water, adding it a ladle at a time; the starch from the pasta makes the stew creamy without any cheese.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 9 oz small brown or green lentilsrinsed
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oilplus extra to serve
- 2 cloves garliccrushed
- 1 celery stickfinely chopped
- 5 ½ oz cherry tomatoeshalved, or 3 tbsp passata
- 1 pinch chilli flakesopt
- 6 ¼ cups waterhot
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsleychopped
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Heat 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a deep pan and cook 2 cloves garlic, 1 celery stick and 1 pinch chilli flakes, if using, for 4 minutes, until soft. Add 5 ½ oz cherry tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes.
7 minStep 2: Add 9 oz small brown or green lentils and 1 litre of 6 ¼ cups water, bring to the boil and simmer, partly covered, for 25–30 minutes, until tender.
30 minStep 3: Season with 1 tsp salt. Add 9 oz mixed short pasta (pasta mista) or ditalini and cook, stirring often and adding hot water a ladle at a time, for 10–12 minutes, until the pasta is al dente and the stew is thick and creamy. Common mistake: adding too much water at once; you get soup, not pasta e lenticchie.
12 minStep 4: Rest for 2 minutes off the heat. Serve with 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley and a drizzle of oil.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 480 kcal
- Protein
- 21 g
- Carbs
- 80 g
- Fat
- 9 g
- Fibre
- 12 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pasta e lenticchie take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
- What can I use instead of celery stick?
- Fennel, same weight.
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