bits and pieces

Sometimes a recipe takes a lot of preparation and effort to try out, but the end result is well worth it. Unfortunately, Pasta with Lentils and Arugula is not one of those recipes. It took a lot of chopping and dicing and stirring and boiling, and then, in the end, the dish just tasted ok. Not even worth making again, as far as I’m concerned.

I wanted to make something new tonight, so I turned to this recipe from the Everyday Food cookbook, which has mostly been good to me so far. I read through the whole thing several times, so I knew it would take some effort, but I went for it.

The preparation was not extensive, but I have learned that coring and dicing plum tomatoes is not my idea of fun. I can deal with the tears induced by chopping an onion — which I did for this recipe — but what a pain to remove the guts from tiny tomatoes. I usually like raw tomatoes, so, to me, that’s removing the best part! But I squirted out the seeds and guts of the poor things.

Then there was all the multi-tasking and coordination. Three pots were required, one for the onions, one for the pasta, and another for the lentils, and they all had their own heats and schedules and whatever else. I managed ok, but it was not my idea of fun, especially when there was a lot of standing and waiting and stirring.

And then, after all of that, when everything that needs cooking is cooked, you basically mix it all up into a sort of warm, sloppy salad. At that point, I worried that it would all be a bit ruined, mainly because of the smell of the lentils in this all. It’s sort of like working with paint, where the colors are lovely on their own, and if you mix them right, it can work, but if you mix them wrong, you get a blob of grayish brown.

Well, this wasn’t quite the grayish brown blob I feared I’d get, but it was very strange. It’s like a warm pasta and green salad, but then there are the lentils, so it’s a bit weird. I got a bit of everything in each bite, and it wasn’t that it tasted badly together. It was just a weird combination of textures and tastes, and not quite what I expected. And it wasn’t all that filling, even though I ate what seemed like enough in my bowl.

There were some good parts though, at least in what I learned. I think the onions turned out quite nicely, all brown and soft, but with plenty of flavor. I could see blending them with a different kind of pasta (spaghetti?) and some spices as a quick dinner. And I managed to cook the lentils to about the right consistency, though I’ve not cooked them before. So at least there was that.

Here’s the recipe in full detail:

Pasta with Lentils and Arugula
Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced (4 cups)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 12 ounces plum tomatoes, cored and diced (about 2 cups)
• 3/4 cup lentils, picked over and rinsed
• 12 ounces orecchiette pasta
• 1 bunch (8 ounces) arugula, stemmed and coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cover, and cook until onions wilt, about 20 minutes. Uncover; raise heat to medium. Cook, stirring often, until onions are dark brown, 20 to 25 minutes more.
2. Add 1/4 cup water; stir to loosen any browned bits from pan. Stir in tomatoes; remove from heat.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, cover lentils with water by 1 inch. Bring to a simmer. Cover; cook until lentils are tender but still holding their shape, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain; stir into onion mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Cook pasta in a pot of salted water until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water; drain pasta, and return to pot.
5. Add lentil mixture, arugula, cheese, and reserved pasta water; toss. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with more cheese, if desired.

Orecchiette are small ear-shaped pasta shells; fusilli or farfalle can be used instead. You can also replace the arugula with two cups whole fresh Italian parsley leaves.

Note: Before using arugula, always wash it well in several changes of cold water, until you no longer see any grit in the bottom of the bowl.