Across Italy · No.55 / 103
Pasta e lenticchie
Pasta e lenticchie
Lentils simmer with pancetta, tomato, and herbs before ditalini cook in the same pot and Parmigiano melts through the broth.
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Meet the dish
An Italian home dish that cooks short pasta directly in a lentil stew
Intact lentils and ditalini share a consistency thicker than soup but looser than a conventional sauce. Smoked pancetta, rosemary, thyme, and chili flavor the stew; Parmigiano and a short rest stabilize the final body.
Pasta shapes to use
- Ditalini rigati, close in size to the lentils
Key ingredients
- Lentils
- Ditalini
- Smoked pancetta
- Tomato purée
- Rosemary
- Parmigiano
Follow the cooking scenes
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Step 1: Cook aromatics and pancetta
Sauté onion, carrot, celery, and garlic in oil, using a little vegetable broth if needed to prevent scorching. Add diced smoked pancetta and let its fat season the vegetables.
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Step 2: Simmer lentils for about 40 minutes
Add rinsed lentils, tomato purée, rosemary, thyme, and chili, then cover with warm vegetable broth. Simmer gently for about 40 minutes until tender but intact, and remove the herb stems.
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Step 3: Cook pasta in the same pot
Bring the stew back to a simmer with more broth, add ditalini directly, and cook for about ten minutes while scraping the bottom. Off heat, stir in Parmigiano and rest covered for a few minutes.
What to watch for
- Do not let the pot dry before the lentils soften. Add only warm broth so cooking remains steady and the base does not scorch.
- Once pasta enters, settled lentils and starch catch easily. Stir from the bottom and stop cooking while the mixture is slightly looser than the desired serving consistency.
What sets it apart
The lentils remain whole; unlike chickpea versions that use a blender, pasta starch and cheese provide the body here.