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Spaghetti with Lentils

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BY The Editors

PUBLISHED October 19, 2021

This is a derivation of a recipe Stanley Tucci grew up with. He writes that he often makes a big pot and eats it over a few days for lunch at home or brings it to film sets “as an antidote to the usually horrid food served off a truck to cast and crew by beleaguered caterers.”

 

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Spaghetti with Lentils

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Makes 4 servings 1x

Units Scale

Ingredients

  • 1/2 carrot, finely chopped
  • 1/2 onion, finely chopped
  • 1/2 stalk celery, finely chopped
  • 1/2 garlic clove, sliced
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 1 cup dried brown lentils, rinsed and picked over
  • 1/2 pound spaghetti
  • 1 1/2 cups salsa marinara
  • Salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. In a medium or large saucepan (all the ingredients, including the pasta, will end up in this saucepan, so make sure it is large enough), sauté the carrot, onion, celery, and garlic in the olive oil over medium-low heat until they are soft, about 7 minutes.
  2. Place the lentils in another medium saucepan. Fill the pan with cold water to a level 1 inch above the lentils. Slowly bring to a simmer and cook until the lentils are just tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
  3. To break the spaghetti, lay out a clean dish towel, wrap the spaghetti in it, and fold over the ends of the towel. Roll, squeeze, and/or bend this bundle until you can feel the spaghetti has broken down into 1- to 1 1/2 -inch pieces. Place the bundle over a large bowl and unfurl, thus emptying it of all the bits of spaghetti.
  4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti until al dente.
  5. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water before draining the pasta.
  6. Meanwhile, drain the lentils and transfer them to the saucepan with the sautéed vegetables. Add the salsa marinara. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until the lentils have blended with the sauce, about 10 minutes. Add the drained pasta, along with the reserved pasta water to make a liquid consistency. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Simmer the pasta and sauce together to allow the flavors to combine, about 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

— Taste: My Life Through Food

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