Quick info

  • Servings: 2 people
  • Prep: 1 hour – 1 hour 30 minutes (if you make the broth from scratch) / 30 minutes (if you use ready-made broth)
  • Tools: large pot, saucepan, knife, chopping board, ladle, (optional) strainer
  • Heads-up: if you’re not making your own broth, use carton vegetable broth — not bouillon cubes

Ingredients

  • 160g (5.6 oz) pasta (conchigliette or tubetti)
  • 140g (4.9 oz) dried lentils
  • 3 liters (12.7 cups) water (for the homemade broth)
  • 4 medium carrots (3 for the broth, 1 for the aromatic base)
  • 1 medium onion + ½ onion (1 whole for the broth, ½ for the aromatic base)
  • 10 cherry tomatoes (6 for the broth, 4 for the aromatic base)
  • 1 celery stalk (for the broth)
  • (Optional) 1 small bunch of parsley (for the broth)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (for the aromatic base)
  • 1 level teaspoon coarse salt (half that if you use ready-made broth, which is already salted)

Method

1. Make the broth (if homemade)

Put 3 liters (12.7 cups) of water in a pot with: 1 whole onion, 3 carrots halved, 1 celery stalk, 6 cherry tomatoes and 1 bay leaf. If you’re using parsley, add it now. Bring to a boil, then drop the heat and let it simmer for 30–50 minutes. Keep the broth warm. (If you’re using ready-made broth, just bring it up to temperature.)

2. Build the aromatic base

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a saucepan. Add ½ onion, roughly chopped, and 1 carrot sliced into thin rounds. Cook over medium heat until softened, then add 4 quartered cherry tomatoes and let them cook down for a few minutes.

3. Cook the lentils

Rinse 140g (4.9 oz) of lentils and add them to the aromatic base. Let them pick up some flavor, then cover with hot broth, roughly twice their height. Bring to a boil, add 1 bay leaf and let them simmer, topping up with broth as needed.

4. Add the pasta

Cook the lentils on their own until the remaining time matches the pasta’s cooking time, then add 160g (5.6 oz) of pasta. Example: if the lentils take 30 minutes and the pasta takes 10, cook the lentils for 20 minutes, then add the pasta. Add hot broth a little at a time to keep the texture you want.

5. Adjust and serve

Salt toward the end with 1 level teaspoon of coarse salt (½ teaspoon if you’re using ready-made broth). Taste and tweak the broth if needed. Serve soupy and brothy, or drier by draining off some of the broth through a strainer.