Pasta Soup With Lentils

Oh, how I love to make soup and eat soup! This one is fabulous! Super simple with staple vegetables and pasta but with the added goodness of lentils.

I know, I am repeating myself in saying that the simplest of dishes are usually the best, but it is so true!This soup, case in point! I saw Lydia Bastianich make this on her PBS show one recent evening as I was scanning the channels while waiting for the  news. I don't watch a lot of television, and since we don't have cable I miss out on a lot of great cooking shows. This is probably a good thing because I would likely not get anything else done but watching people cook. Anyhow, this soup looked so good and I liked the idea of putting in lentils for added fiber and heartiness. I don't use lentils as often as I should. I will try to do better in the future! I altered Lydia's recipe slightly, mainly by using red lentils instead of brown, only because I had a bag of the red ones in my pantry. If pancetta is hard to find where you are you could use regular thick cut bacon, or for a true vegetarian soup omit it all together. What you should not omit is a generous sprinkling of good Parmesan at serving time. Enjoy!

I love cooking with my great red pot

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

6 ounces pancetta, chopped

1 medium onion, diced

1 large stalk celery, chopped smallish

1 large carrot, diced

2 fresh bay leaves (I used dry)

1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, hand crushed, plus juice

2 cups red or brown lentils, rinsed and drained

8 cups water

1 tablespoon kosher salt

8 ounces ditalini pasta (small tubes)

Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Optional, chopped Italian parsley, for serving

Directions:

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Chop pancetta and add to oil. Cook until it renders fat, 3-4 minutes. Add the onion, celery carrot and bay leaves. Cook until translucent about 5 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes and juice and bring to a simmer. Cook until thickened, about 10 minutes. Add lentils, water and the salt. Bring back to a simmer, cover and cook until lentils are just tender, 20-25 minutes (brown lentils may need 30 minutes). Add the ditalini, and cook covered, until pasta is al dente, about 8 minutes. Serve with grated cheese.

This makes a large batch. Should serve 8-10.
The soup thickens up as it cools. Dilute with some vegetable broth or water and add extra salt if needed.