Pasta With Lentils And Chard Recipes

CROCK POT PASTA WITH LENTILS AND CHARD

Steps:

• Rinse and drain chard well. Trim off coarse stem ends; then cut stems crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide strips and set aside.
• Cover chard leaves and refrigerate.
• In a 3-quart or larger electric cooker, combine chard stems,lentils, onion, garlic, cumin seeds, red pepper flakes, and black pepper.
• Pour in water. Cover and cook at low setting until lentils are tender when mashed with a fork (6 to 7 hours).
• Cut chard leaves crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide strips; stir into cooker.
• Increase heat setting to high; cover and cook until chard is wilted and bright green (about 15 minutes more).
• Meanwhile, in a 5 to 6-quart pan, cook linguine in 3 quarts boiling water just until tender to bite (10 to 12 minutes); or cook according to package directions. Drain well, pour into a warm wide 4-quart bowl.
• Season lentil sauce to taste with salt.
• Add lentil sauce and Neufchatel cheese to linquine, mix lightly to coat well.
• Offer Parmesan cheese to add taste, if desired.

PASTA AND LENTILS

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a rolling boil, add the lentils, and cook, covered over a medium high heat, until nearly but not entirely tender, about 20 minutes.
• Add the garlic, olive oil, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Reduce the heat, cover and continue to simmer briskly for another 10 minutes, stirring a few times, or until the lentil are fully tender.
• If using capellini, break it into 2 to 4 inch pieces and add them to the lentils. Cook, covered, at a steady simmer, stirring several times and scraping the bottom of the pot when you do. Cook until the pasta is just done, stirring more frequently as it gets closer to that point. If using a small tubular pasta or pasta mista, cook the pasta at least halfway in plenty of salted boiling water. Drain the pasta, add it to the lentils, and simmer to finish cooking the pasta.
• When either pasta is cooked to taste, remove the pot from the heat, stir in the parsley, cover the pot, and let stand about 5 minutes before serving. Serve hot, passing hot pepper oil all the best quality extra virgin olive oil for drizzling on top.

SPAGHETTI WITH CHARD & LENTILS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Meanwhile in a separate pan, heat the olive oil on medium high heat.
• Add the garlic and saute until fragrant about 30 seconds.
• Add the chard and season with salt and pepper.
• Allow the chard to wilt and the stems to soften then turn off the heat. This will take about 5 minutes.
• Drain the pasta (remembering to reserve some of the pasta water first).
• Add pasta to the pan with the chard and half of the pasta water and combine together.
• Allow to sit for about 5 minutes in the pan off the heat.
• Continue to add more of the reserved pasta water if the pasta seems a bit dry (or you can also add in some extra olive oil at this point).
• Adjust seasonings and serve with fresh herbs, almonds and or grated cheese.

FRENCH LENTILS WITH CHARD

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until it begins to soften, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the carrot and celery and cook, stirring, until all the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Add the lentils, 2 quarts water and bouquet garni. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer 40 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove the bouquet garni.
• Stir the chard into the simmering lentils. Cook another 10 minutes or so, until the lentils and greens are tender. The chard should be tender but still bright. Taste, adjust seasonings and serve, passing the cheese at the table for sprinkling. Alternatively, transfer to an oiled baking dish, top with rounds of goat cheese, crumbled feta or grated Parmesan, and heat through in a medium oven.

PASTA WITH LENTILS AND CHARD

Steps:

• Rinse and drain chard well. Trim off coarse stem ends then cut stems crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide strips and set aside. Cover chard leaves and refrigerate. In a 3-quart or larger crockpot , combine chard stems, lentils, onion, garlic, cumin seeds, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Pour in water. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours, until lentils are tender when mashed with a fork. Cut chard leaves crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide strips stir into cooker. Increase heat setting to HIGH cover and cook until chard is wilted and bright green (about 15 minutes more).Meanwhile, in a 5- to 6-quart pan, cook linguine in 3 quarts boiling water just until tender to bite (10 to 12 minutes) or cook according to package directions. Drain well pour into a warm wide 4-quart bowl. Season lentil sauce to taste with salt. Add lentil sauce and Neufchatel cheese to linquine mix lightly to coat well.Offer Parmesan cheese to add taste, if desired.

PASTA WITH LENTILS AND KALE

Steps:

• Simmer lentils in water (2 cups) with 1/4 teaspoon salt in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart saucepan, uncovered, adding more water if necessary to keep lentils barely covered, until tender but not falling apart, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt.
• While lentils simmer, heat 1/4 cup oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté onion with pepper and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, stirring, 1 minute. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and golden (stir more frequently toward end of cooking), about 20 minutes. Remove lid and increase heat to moderate, then cook, stirring frequently, until onion is golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes more.
• While onion cooks, cut out and discard stems and center ribs from kale. Cook kale in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water , uncovered, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer kale with tongs to a colander to drain, pressing lightly. Keep pot of water at a boil, covered.
• Coarsely chop kale and add to onion along with lentils (including lentil-cooking liquid), then simmer, stirring, 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add pasta to kale-cooking liquid and boil, uncovered, until al dente. Reserve about 1 cup pasta-cooking liquid, then drain pasta in a colander. Add pasta to lentil mixture along with about 1/3 cup of pasta-cooking liquid (or enough to keep pasta moist) and cook over high heat, tossing, 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil.