This recipe dates back to my college years. I built it as a way to try out a few flavor ideas, and because I was still figuring out what all I could do with lentils–I’d gotten stuck in thinking of them as being in curries only. Now I grin wryly at my naïveté, but this recipe stuck around. It’s rich from the Balsamic and the butter at the end, and it’s got great contrasts in texture.
Ingredients
- 200g short pasta
- ¾ cup brown lentils, sorted & rinsed
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 oz mushrooms, sliced (optional)
- 2 tsp italian seasoning
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1½ Tbsp butter
- 2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
- pepper flakes as desired
- salt & pepper to taste
Preparation
- Set water on to boil for pasta, and start lentils simmering in a separate pot; bring the lentils to a boil, and after 10 minutes reduce heat to a simmer & cover. Wash & cut vegetables. Cook the lentils until they’re tender.
- Strain the lentils, rinsing them down with some cool water to halt their cooking. Wipe out the pan used for the lentils.
- Heat olive oil in the cleaned pan over medium heat, then add onion & sauté until golden before adding (optionally) the mushrooms, then after sweating the mushrooms, add the bell pepper. Use additional oil as needed here, the mushrooms especially can be thirsty.
- Once the vegetables have been fully sautéed, add the spices and herbs, garlic, and deglaze with (ideally) a cooking wine. Re-add the lentils, and pour in the vinegar with the lentils. Reduce heat to low, and cover.
- Start the pasta after adding the lentils, and once the pasta is done retain some pasta water for the starch. Strain and add the pasta to the lentils, stirring in the butter as well to mount and form a glossy sauce. If the sauce isn’t loose enough, add some pasta water and stir to bloom the starch.
Garnish with grating cheese, serve with a crusty bread.