Executive Chef Paul Duncan shares an easy two-in-one recipe to make any night of the week. Then enjoy it a different way the next night!
Black Lentil Soup & Pasta Fagiole Recipe
(makes 4 portions of soup and 4 portions of pasta fagiole)
*Note: this recipe makes 8 portions of lentil soup total – soup gets divided in half so 4 portions are served as soup and 4 portions are reserved to make sauce for pasta fagiole.
Ingredients for Black Lentil Soup
- 1 pound dried black lentils (soaked in room temperature water for 1.5 hours)
- 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium white onion (small dice)
- 1 medium red onion (small dice)
- 4 medium carrots (peeled and diced)
- 5 ribs of celery (small dice)
- 1 fennel bulb (core removed and discarded, remaining bulb diced)
- 10 cloves garlic (peeled and minced)
- 1 Serrano pepper (small dice, seeds removed and discarded)
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 3/4 Tablespoon dried oregano
- 3/4 Tablespoon dried basil
- 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 6 oz. can tomato paste
- 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes (may substitute fresh tomatoes – if so, score and blanch 5 large tomatoes to remove skin, rough chop skinned tomatoes)
- 6 cups chicken stock (can substitute vegetable stock or water)
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro (stems removed, washed and chopped)
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (we prefer full fat, make sure it is unsweetened)
Ingredients for Pasta Fagiole
- 1 14 oz. can cannellini beans (drained)
- 1 lb. dry spaghetti or linguine noodles (can substitute any pasta shape of choice)
- 1 bunch black kale (rinsed, de-stemmed and chopped)
- 2 cups chicken stock, if necessary (can substitute vegetable stock or water)
- 1/4 stick unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan, plus more for garnish
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley (stems removed, washed and chopped)
To make soup:
- Once lentils have soaked, drain and rinse thoroughly
- In a heavy bottom soup pot (we use a 5 1/2 qt. Le Creuset dutch oven) heat olive oil over medium-high heat
- Add white onion, red onion, carrots, celery, fennel and garlic to heated oil and sauté for 5 minutes
- Add Serrano pepper, cayenne, oregano, basil, cumin and a nice pinch of Kosher salt and until aromatic (about 2-3 minutes)
- Add tomato paste, diced tomatoes and chicken stock and stir together thoroughly
- Bring mixture to just below a simmer and add drained lentils and stir to combine
- Bring soup to a brief boil and turn to a low heat so soup is barely simmering
- Cook uncovered for 1-1.5 hours until soup thickens slightly and lentils are fully cooked but still intact
- Season to taste with Kosher salt and black pepper
- To serve, portion half of the lentil soup into 4 bowls and top each portion with chopped fresh cilantro and plain Greek yogurt
- Chill remaining half of lentil soup to be used for pasta fagiole (see below)
To make pasta fagiole with leftover soup:
- Combine leftover lentil soup and cannellini beans in heavy bottom soup pot and reheat
- In a separate pot, bring 3 qt. water to a boil and season generously with Kosher salt
- Add dry pasta to boiling salted water and cook until done according to directions on package
- While pasta is cooking, add rinsed, chopped black kale to reheating soup
- Once kale has begun to wilt, add butter to soup
- Add chicken stock, if needed, to thin the soup to a sauce consistency
- Drain pasta and add directly to pot with lentil/bean/kale sauce
- Remove pasta from heat, fold in parmesan cheese and stir thoroughly to combine
- Season to taste with Kosher salt and black pepper
- To serve, divide pasta equally into 4 bowls and garnish each portion with fresh chopped parsley and more parmesan cheese
