Recipe Archives->Pasta->Pomodoro Lentils

Light Pasta Pomodoro with Lentils

1 can vegetable broth
juice from 1 can Rotel tomatoes (set aside the tomatoes)
1/2 cup lentils
1 jar pasta sauce
1/4 cup red wine
3 cups penne rigate or mostaccoli, uncooked
1 to 2 cups shredded, part-skim mozzarella or smoked mozzarella cheese 

In a small saucepan, stir together broth and Rotel juice; heat to
boiling.  Add lentils; reduce heat.  Simmer 35 minutes, covered,
or until lentils are tender; drain.  (Now, I add a few whole cloves
of garlic and some pepper to this, straining out the garlic cloves
when I strain the lentils...I think it just adds some nice flavor
to the lentils).

In a medium saucepan, stir together pasta sauce, Rotel tomatoes,
wine and drained lentils; heat to boiling.  Reduce heat; cook 5
minutes.  (At this stage, I often add some chopped, fresh onions,
green/red/yellow peppers and minced fresh garlic...I think it adds
character to jarred sauce.)

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.  Meanwhile, cook pasta according to
package directions; drain.  (I cook the pasta about 15 mins. into
the lentils' cooking time, so that everything gets done together.)

Stir together pasta and about 2 1/2 cups sauce.  Spread into 11 x
7 inch baking dish.  Spoon remaining sauce over top, covering pasta
completely; sprinkle with cheese.

Bake 10 minutes or until cheese melts.  (When using two cups cheese,
I lower the oven temp to 350 degrees F and bake 20 to 30 minutes
so that everything blends well and the cheese browns and crisps
up)

This is a real treat at potlucks and people rarely realize they're
going vegetarian (especially with the caviar lentils)

Printable version: pomodoro-lentils.txt.