Lentils and pasta in one delicious, traditional dish: Pasta e Lenticchie

Pasta and lentils—pasta e lenticchie—is a traditional Italian favorite with many versions. Here’s ours. Recipe below.

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]T[/su_dropcap]his week’s recipe began with six words: Tortellini, Lentils/Collard Greens/Pork Sausage. Lifestyle website InsideHook asked six Michelin-starred Chicago chefs to name their favorite meals in town, and Lee Wolen at BOKA called out the pasta dishes at Daisies. Those six words were the full menu description of one of those pastas.

I soon learned that pasta and lentils, Pasta e Lenticchie, is a beloved traditional Italian dish. Almost as soon, I learned that—like most beloved traditions—executions of this dish vary wildly. Spaghetti, broken or unbroken; short pastas (ziti, ditalini, orecchiette, cavatelli); tomatoes, no tomatoes; sausage, no sausage; cook the pasta with the lentils and milk, cook everything separate; very little sauce, almost soupy.

But I kept coming back to those six words, shorter than a haiku, but making a delicious promise: Tortellini, Lentils/Collard Greens/Pork Sausage. That was the mix of flavors and textures I could taste. For the presumably cheese-filled tortellini, I substituted penne rigate and grated Parmesan. But I stuck with the collard greens—their pleasantly bitter bite is similar to kale and Swiss chard, and I appreciate the earthiness they bring. Onion, garlic, thyme and a little tomato paste all combine to create a subtly complex, satisfying, rustic dish.

This is the opposite of a one-pot meal. I had three pots/pans going on the stove at once. But don’t let that deter you—the separate parts are all forgiving in their timing and can wait for others to be ready. Also, every single step is easy. If you cook at all, you’ve got this.

Print Pin

Pasta e Lenticchie

Pasta and lentils—pasta e lenticchie—is a traditional Italian favorite with many versions. Here's ours.

Course Main Course, Pasta

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 8 ounces collard greens, thick stems removed, leaves torn into large pieces
• salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 ounces Italian sausage, mild or spicy (see Kitchen Notes)
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme, or 2 teaspoons fresh leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
• 8 ounces penne rigate or other small pasta
• 1 cup green or brown lentils

Instructions

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. When it is boiling, salt it generously and add collard greens. Cook for 3 minutes, then using a slotted spoon, transfer to a strainer to drain. (You can turn the pasta water pot off now, reheating it when you get ready to cook the pasta.)
• Cook the lentils and pasta. In a medium saucepan, combine lentils and 4 cups of water. Season with salt and bring to a boil, then reduce to a medium boil and cook, uncovered, until just tender, about 15 minutes.
• While the lentils are cooking, return pasta water to a boil and cook the pasta (the pasta water will be green, thanks to blanching the collard greens in it—no worries). Cook the pasta about 2 minutes less than the recommended al dente cooking time, timing it to coincide with the lentils being cooked. Drain the pasta, reserving 1-1/2 cups of cooking water.
• Meanwhile, cook the sauce. Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high flame. Add sausage and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, for about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, create a space in the middle of the pan and add the onion. Cook, stirring frequently for about 1 minute, then stir into sausage and continue to cook for 2 minutes.
• Clear the middle of the pan again and add garlic, dried thyme and crushed red pepper (if using fresh thyme, stir in later, when you add the pasta to the pan). Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 45 seconds, then stir everything together.
• Create one more clear spot in the center of the pan and add tomato paste, pressing down. Cook for about 1 minute to brown it slightly. Stir to combine everything and season with salt and pepper.
• Drain the cooked lentils and add to the pan. Add drained pasta and 1 cup of the reserved cooking water, stirring to combine everything. Cook until pasta is al dente, about 2 minutes, sampling to make sure it is done. Add a little extra water if the dish seems to be drying out—the cooking pasta will absorb some of the water.
• Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of Parmesan. Divide among 4 shallow pasta bowls, top with additional grated Parmesan and serve.

Kitchen Notes

Spicy or no? Either sausage will work, so this is totally up to you.

Crushed red pepper flakes—how much? Depends on whether you use spicy sausage or not. And how much heat you like. I had mild sausage on hand, so 1/2 teaspoon of pepper flakes added subtle heat. With spicy sausage, you can use less or forgo them altogether.