Lentils and pasta - minestra?

"Perché la minestra si fredda (because the soup is getting cold)"

Leonardo da Vinci

Those words are sometimes cited as Leonardo's last words, so I couldn't resist using them as an opening quote. Not that I'm closing down in any way, but more because it's Leonardo I guess. Or more importantly because it implies something humble and everyday, which, having now browsed the net reasonably extensively to find the meaning of minestra (as opposed to minestrone), I now have decided means a particular kind of pasta dish made with humble things like beans, potatoes and lentils. Cucina povera or as Rachel Roddy describes minestra- "thick, pulse-based soup-stews reinforced with pasta." Not that Leonardo was in poor circumstances when he died as he was living under the patronage of the King of France, who was said to be at his bedside when he died. So not just living in the attic with the servants.

But then perhaps this is one of those peasant dishes eaten by kings. Although when I checked out my older Italian cookbooks, including the classic The Silver Spoon, which I thought was supposed to include everything, there was no mention of lentils and pasta together. I suspect that these homely, comforting dishes made from cheap basics like pasta, pulses and potatoes have only come into fashion because of, first the health food movements - the nuts and berries people, then the rise of vegetarianism, and ultimately veganism. Plus the realisation that pulses - and even potatoes, but to a lesser extent - are actually super foods packed with protein, minerals, vitamins et al.

I have also decided that this is one of those dishes that sits squarely on the dividing line between soup and stew - or ragù as the Italians would say. Add a bit more liquid and it's soup - also, I found, sometimes called minestra, but more usually, minestrone.

I got into this because of yesterday's New York Times dish of the day on my desk calendar (a disappointing purchase I have to say) - Pasta and lentils (Pasta e lenticchie) by Ali Slagel, although curiously when I later did a search to see if Giorgio Locatelli had a recipe, this recipe popped up - second on the list. No reference to him however and no recipe from him elsewhere either.

My first port of call was Rachel Roddy who had two different articles, with, I suspect the same recipe, but with something different to say about them and minestra in in general in each - Tagliatelle with lentil and mushroom ragu and just the ragú in an article about Lentils two ways. The one pictured here is with pasta.

This approach seems to be the basic one - you make a rich stew from lentils - preferably either the French green Puy type or the Umbrian ones from Norcia - also small but a different colour. A quick aside here, is that I bought a pack of French-style green lentils today, having decided that I would try one of the recipes I am about to tell you about some time next week - only to discover that they were grown in Canada. Don't we grow them here? Well yes we do - Mount Zero for one grow and sell them, but that's a gourmet product, and therefore not widely available and also much more expensive. So McKenzie's it is. The Canadians are good people too.

Back to the basic ragù and a few examples. The basic ingredients are carrots, celery, onion, garlic and herbs, but of course everyone tweaks them a little bit to suit themselves. This basic ragù is also the basis of the many, many, many recipes for vegan bolognese recipes - with the most common variable being mushrooms. Herewith a selection: Umbrian lentil soup with pasta - The Pasta Project - yes she calls it a soup, but it's pretty thick and more like a sloppy pasta dish; Autumn pasta with lentils - Diana Henry; Pasta e lenticcie - Gennaro Contaldo - a nice little video, with some rather lovely tomatoey, cheesy toasts on the side; and Lentil pasta  - Love and Lemons.

You might notice here, that almost everyone seems to have gone for pappardelle, or at least something flat and wide, whereas some of the literature tells you that the most common pasta used is ditali - which is the complete opposite really - short and with a hole in the middle.

I haven't mentioned any of the vast quantity of recipes for lentil based lasagnes, because these mostly demonstrate the same kind of thinking as the bolognese type concoctions above and the various vegetarian and vegan lasagne that exist on the net.

Then there are the ones who spice the sauce up somewhat - Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage had a go here for their Ultimate traybake ragù; Thomasina Miers added some vegetables to her One pot penne with lentil, tomato and kale sauce; Ravinder Bhogal was in favour or anchovies and fennel with her Lentil, anchovy and fennel ragù with spaghetti and Jamie went Sicilian with his Sicilian lentil and olive ragù

At this stage I discovered that the Arabs were also fans of lentils and pasta - and why not? Lentils, after all, are the oldest pulses to have been consumed in the world. Pasta too, is sometimes ascribed to the Arabs rather than the Chinese. So three examples from Syria, Egypt, and I think Morocco: Syrian spaghetti with pomegranate and lentils (Hurrak Osbao) - Rooted Spices; Koshari (Egyptian lentils, rice and pasta) - Nermine Mansour/Serious Eats; and Lentils with pasta and caramelized onions ( Rishta bi addas) - Claudia Roden, all of which I have to say look even more tempting than the traditional Italian versions:

And finally I had a quick look to see what modern recipe developers and cooks are trying to do with lentils and pasta and found some who didn't stray far from the original idea, and some who did: Lentils with pappardelle, basil and crème fraîche - Nigel Slater (I'm very tempted by this one - it looked lighter somehow); Chorizo, lentil and goat's curd pasta - Donna Hay;

Red lentil penne with Sicilian pesto - Sylivia Colloca/SBS; Lentil and rye meatballs with pappardelle and hazelnuts - Donna Hay; and Sausage and lentil conchiglioni - Phoebe Wood/delicious.

I'm making an almost conscious effort to eat more pulses so it's been quite inspiring to find so many recipes above that I could try. And I really must use that packet I bought today. Rachel Roddy, in one of her articles, spoke about how when she first moved to Rome, she received endless advice - or was it instruction - on how to cook like an Italian:

"The next was pasta and lentils, for which I sought and received a lot of advice, ranging from scant and impressionistic, to opinionated and precise instruction. I tried and tested until I found a way that worked for me and suited how I like to eat." Rachel Roddy

So I'm guessing that if I try one or two of the above, that eventually I shall find my own favourite way of dealing with this particular pairing. The basic cucina povera way, somewhere in between, modern - or even Arabic - which look very special. Which one do you fancy David?

YEARS GONE BY

October 10

2024 - A green sauce for almost everything

2023 - Nothing

2022 - Nothing

2021 - From here, there and everywhere

2020 - Missing

2019 - Fiskisúpa - Icelandic fish soup

2018 - How universal is bacon and eggs?

2017 - Nothing

2016 - How do you deal with lettuce?