Is it safe to say that lentils might be as common to Italians as rice grains to Chinese? Well, if that really is the case, then it might somewhat explains why it took me quite some effort to find organic lentils in Taiwan since the majority of the locals probably never had lentils before.
Good thing is that there's this specific company that import all sort of higher quality grains from around the world, and they have a little shop in Taipei, so I can get my hands on precious bag of lentils. However, with few more bills in exchange but I'm happy enough to finally found the ingredient needed.
Thick cut bacon and lentil ragu -
Ingredients (about 6 servings)?
- 500 grams linguine pasta
- 250 grams lentils
- 400 grams thick-cut bacon or ham
- 1 medium celery stalk
- 1 medium carrot
- 2 medium onions
- 40 grams dried porcini mushrooms
- 8 pieces sun-dried tomatoes
- 400 grams canned whole tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- Some extra virgin olive oil
- Some salt
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 250ml dry white wine
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup pasta cooking water (just in case)
- Some black pepper
- Some red chili flakes
- 1 lemon (optional)
How?
Cube the thick-cut bacon or ham. Destem then dice the celery. Peel and dice the onions and carrot. Give the sun-dried tomatoes a few chops. Peel and chop the garlic cloves.
Rinse the dried porcini mushrooms then soak in room temperature water for about 20 minutes. Drain out the liquid and give the mushrooms a few chops before use in cooking.
Have a Dutch oven ready and drizzle 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Switch to medium heat and add in cubed bacon or ham. Sear till some fats rendered.
Add in cubed celery, carrot, and onion. Stir-fry and let cook for at least 10 minutes.
Then add in chopped garlic along with sun-dried tomatoes and porcini mushrooms. Mix and cook for couple more minutes.
Add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. Cook for one minute, just a little heat to bring out that tomato aroma.
Pour in 250ml of dry white wine and everything in canned tomato. Also add 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon of dried parsley, and 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary.
Bring the whole thing to a boil then add in the lentils. Mix first then pour in the chicken stock. I put 2 cups under the ingredient list, but use as much as you need in order to get like 1 centimeter above the top of ingredients.
Adjust the heat to keep everything at a light bubbling stage. Continue to cook for 30 more minutes and make sure to stir the pot once a while.
Later on pick out the bay leaves. Give it a tasting test and see if more seasonings are needed. I added some salt during this step and used about 1 1/2 teaspoons of it along with 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper and 1/4 teaspoon of red chili flakes.
Meanwhile, have another pot of water ready. Bring to a boil and add in few pinches of salt. Cook the linguine pasta till almost al dente. Save some pasta water first then drain out the rest.
Transfer pasta to the Dutch oven and mix till blended. Check and see if you need to pour in some of the pasta water we saved earlier for better consistency.
Finally, drizzle some more extra virgin olive oil a few rounds. Give it a final mix then the ragu will be ready for plating.
You can squeeze in some fresh lemon juice right before serving, or simply have some lemon wedges on the side instead. The lemon part is more of a personal preference, in which I always love to have that kick of bright citrusy note to a hearty pasta dish.
If you can't find lentils that easily, simply substitute with other types of beans such as cannellini or chickpeas, but do pay attention with actual cooking time. You might need to shorten the time for cooking when using other type of beans or simply add in the beans a bit later. Don't want to end up with mushy beans in the end.
Extended reading:
- Pasta all'ortolana (healthy pasta with lots of vegetables)
- Zucchini and squash pasta with parsley and mint sauce
- Vegetable and meatballs pasta bake
