Preparation

• Prepare the lentils following the procedure described in cooking lentils | basic recipe or, if you have them ready in the freezer, defrost them.

  Alternatively, you can use packaged pre-cooked lentils.
  Remember to rinse them well under running water: canned legumes often contain additives, salt, and sometimes sugar.
  Among packaging types, glass containers are preferable to tin containers as they are less prone to spoilage.

  

• Pour the lentils into a saucepan, add water if necessary and bring to a boil.

  You can leave them plain.
  You can add a shallot or half an onion, parsley stalks and/or celery stalks or a vegetable broth cube.
  You can season with a couple of tablespoons of tomato sauce.
  Adjust the salt.

  Cook with a lid, preferably glass, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

• In another pot, cook the pasta al dente, drain it, and quickly rinse it under running water.
  In the case of brothy first courses, to avoid blood sugar spikes, it is advisable to cook the pasta separately and then rinse it and add it to the brothy sauce prepared separately; in this way, the starch released from the pasta in the cooking water is eliminated.

  In the meantime, bring the lentils back to a boil.

  Add the pasta and mix.

  Plate.
  Grind the pepper and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil.

  Your simple pasta and lentils is ready.

  Enjoy your meal!

  

• Pasta and lentils is a complete dish; add your portion of vegetables to compose a balanced meal or single dish that helps keep blood sugar stable.

  If your servings of pasta and lentils do not satisfy you, add raw or cooked vegetables that you have in your pantry during preparation.
  For example:
  – celery;
  – Swiss chard;
  – boiled broccoli or boiled cauliflower;
  – chicory;
  – leeks;
  – spinach;
  – pumpkin.

  Your dish of pasta and lentils will be even more flavorful and filling.