I am absolutely sure that pasta with lentils is undoubtedly one of my favorite soup dishes! I love eating it with pasta in winter when it’s cold, but I can’t resist it even in summer! I know, I’m a masochist, but in front of these pleasures, I pretend nothing!

I am particularly fond of this recipe because since I was a child, I saw my mother making it regularly, and I was crazy about it. There are many variations that I have tasted over time, but the one I prefer and make for my family is the version with potatoes, which gives that extra creaminess I love, thanks to the starch released during cooking.

The preparation, besides being simple, is also an opportunity for possible lentil preserves to freeze and take out of the freezer when needed. For instance, I usually make glass jars that I then defrost and cook the pasta when I feel like it!

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Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Economical
Preparation time: 1 Hour 20 Minutes
Portions: 4 + preserve
Cooking methods: Boiling
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: Fall, Winter

Ingredients

For Pasta with Lentils and Potatoes

1 onion
4 potatoes
2 carrots
10.5 oz lentils
to taste extra virgin olive oil
8.5 cups water
1 can peeled tomato
to taste salt
9 oz short pasta

Tools

Jars
Pot

Steps

To make Pasta with Lentils and Potatoes

First, dice the onion, and do the same with the potatoes and carrots. Next, take the pot and heat a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil, then sauté the onions for a couple of minutes and subsequently add the carrots, letting them cook for another 2 minutes.
Continue by adding the lentils along with the water and the peeled tomatoes. Mix everything, add the salt, the peeled diced potatoes, and let it cook with the lid on for about 45 minutes.
When the lentils have reached the ideal cooking point, meaning they should be tender to bite, proceed by filling the glass jars to make the preserve, leaving the amount needed to cook the pasta in the pot.
Once all the jars are filled, let them cool completely before placing them in the freezer, and in the meantime, we’ll be ready to drop the pasta into the pot, letting it cook completely with the remaining lentils.
To complete, let the pasta cook for the necessary time and adjust by possibly adding more water to the sauce. For example, I prefer a rather dense result, but you might prefer a more liquid soup.
Finally, after cooking, place a portion of pasta in a bowl or deep plate and garnish with raw extra virgin olive oil and, if you like, some chili pepper before serving at the table.