As a true Neapolitan, I couldn’t leave out the recipe for pasta and lentils from my blog, of course in a light version. I cooked this dish the Neapolitan way, as my mother used to do: adding the pasta directly to the sauce. The result is a clinging pasta, not soupy — in Naples we say it should be a bit “azzeccosa.” And you end up with only one pot to wash!
For the Weight Watchers diet, legumes are often counted as proteins even though they are high in carbohydrates. However, keep in mind that a dish that pairs legumes with whole-grain pasta or cereals will provide complete proteins — in other words all the essential amino acids. So legumes and pasta make a perfect meal for everyone, especially for those following a vegan diet. Check the ingredients and method below.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Cooking time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: 3 or 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 5.3 oz pasta (preferably whole-wheat)
- 1 cup dried lentils (or about 1 3/4 cups (about 13 oz / 360 g) cooked lentils)
- 2 carrots
- 2 stalks celery
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons curry (optional, follow the link to make your own at home)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin (optional)
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- to taste chopped parsley
- to taste salt
- Total WW points = 32 WW points
- Points per serving (divided into 3) = 11 WW points
- Points per serving (divided into 4) = 8 WW points
Tools
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Vegetable peeler
- Pot
- Wooden spoon
Steps
What I do to make pasta and lentils more flavorful is to prepare the lentils following this recipe: Spiced stewed lentils using the ingredients listed above. First I simmer the lentils for about 30-40 minutes, add a little salt at the end of cooking and drain them, reserving the cooking water.
Use the same pot you cooked the lentils in and sauté the garlic, chopped carrot and celery in the teaspoon of oil. If you like, add the Indian spices, curry and cumin — I recommend them because they add a lot of extra flavor.
Let the mixture develop flavor for a few minutes, then add the tomato paste. Stir well and add the cooked lentils, just covering them with the reserved cooking water, and bring to a boil.
As soon as everything comes to a boil, add the pasta— in my case short mafalde—but I usually use whole-wheat pasta: small tubes or cut spaghetti.
Cover and let simmer gently over low heat, stirring occasionally and, if needed, add the lentil cooking water little by little. This technique, in case you didn’t know, is called making the pasta risotto-style.
As soon as the pasta is cooked — al dente in my case — turn off the heat, adjust the salt and let it rest for a couple of minutes. Our light Neapolitan pasta and lentils is ready to be served!
I like to add a bit of roughly chopped parsley directly on the plate, while my Dutch friend likes to drizzle his with very spicy flavored oil (homemade). My son would add extra tomato sauce because he likes it very red.
So everyone to their own tastes, but the base is a deliciously clinging pasta and lentils. And I won’t even tell you how good it tastes the next day: it’s even better. How do you prepare this classic of Italian cooking? Let me know in the comments.
Enjoy your meal!
by Giovanna Buono
Storage
You can prepare pasta and lentils in advance and then reheat it, although the pasta will be less al dente. It keeps in the refrigerator for 3 days; I recommend reheating it in the microwave. If you want to freeze it, I suggest using a grain instead of pasta—such as bulgur or farro.
FAQ (Questions & Answers)
Can I use pre-cooked lentils?
Certainly. For this recipe use 360 g of drained jarred lentils (about 13 oz). If you use a different weight you will need to recalculate the WW points. Since you won’t have the lentil cooking water, I recommend preparing some vegetable broth separately to use for cooking the pasta.
