Neapolitan Pasta and Lentils.
Simple, economical, tasty.
Unlike the version prepared in most other parts of Italy, Neapolitan pasta and lentils is “azzeccosa azzeccosa” (creamy) as we say in Naples, and not brothy like a soup.
Pasta and lentils is a typical dish for cold, autumn days, and in my home it’s a must on December 2nd; Mom always warms up lots of lentils for the zampone, and the leftovers with broth are used the next day to make a delicious pasta and lentils.
Neapolitan pasta and lentils is a very simple dish to prepare, economical, and very tasty. With very few ingredients, a sauté with added garlic, and lots of lentils, this creamy and flavorful dish is perfect for the whole family.
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 12.3 oz lentils
- 12.3 oz small pasta (type broken spaghetti, small shells, mixed pasta, tubettini, etc…)
- 1 carrot
- 1 small onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 stalks celery
- 5 cherry tomatoes
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
Tools
- 1 Pot
- 1 Terracotta Pot
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Wooden Spoon
Steps
If you use large and hard lentils, rinse them and soak them in a glass or plastic bowl with plenty of cold water in which you have dissolved the teaspoon of baking soda, and leave the lentils to soak for about 6 hours. For small lentils that you find packaged in the supermarket, there is no need for this, and you can cook them directly.
Rinse the lentils and put them in a tall stainless steel pot, cover them with plenty of water (the water should exceed the lentils by at least three times their volume), add a stalk of celery, and cook them from the boil for about 30 minutes over very low heat; they need to “pippare” as we say in Naples (simmer very slowly). At the end of cooking, they should be cooked but not mushy (stir occasionally with a wooden spoon while cooking).
Once the lentils are boiled, we can prepare the sauté.
Wash and peel the carrot, peel the onion, wash the remaining celery and chop everything very finely.
Rinse the cherry tomatoes and cut them into pieces, peel the garlic cloves.
In a pot (preferably the clay one), add some oil, the onion, celery, and carrot mince, add the cherry tomatoes and garlic cloves, and let it flavor for a few minutes over low heat, stirring continuously.
As soon as the onion becomes white, add the lentils with their cooking water (the amount of lentil cooking broth should be enough to cook the pasta), salt, and cook for another 10 minutes over very low heat.
Remove the garlic and add the pasta, cooking it for the time indicated on the package, stirring often and adjusting with the cooking base; in the end, the pasta should be beautifully creamy.
Add a good grind of pepper and check the salt.
Neapolitan pasta and lentils is ready to be served… Enjoy your meal!
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