Pasta and lentils

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 300 g pasta (mezzi ditali rigati)
• 200 g mountain lentils
• 100g pancetta
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 onion(s)
• 60 g carrot(s)
• 60 g celery
• 2 tbsp, heaped tomato paste
• 100 ml dry white wine
• 1 liter meat broth
• 1 dried chili pepper
• 1 sprig(s) rosemary
• 1 piece(s) Parmesan rind
• Salt and pepper, black, from the mill
• olive oil
• some Parmesan

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 40 minutes

Finely dice the pancetta, peel the garlic cloves, and crush them with the back of a knife. Peel and finely chop the onion, and cut the carrot and celery into brunoise (very small cubes). Heat a little olive oil in a saucepan and fry the bacon and garlic cloves. Discard the garlic once it has started to brown, and set the pancetta aside once it has crisped up. Sauté the remaining vegetables over very low heat for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then increase the heat and brown the tomato paste. Deglaze with the wine and bring to a boil briefly. Add the lentils and meat stock. Crumble the chili pepper over the pan, add the pancetta, rosemary sprig, and Parmesan rind, and simmer with the lid on for 30 minutes. Then remove the lid, remove the rosemary and cheese rind, and cook the ditali, stirring frequently, until al dente. If the mixture thickens too much, add a little more water. Finally, season with salt and pepper and divide the dish among individual plates. Before serving, grate some Parmesan cheese over each plate and drizzle with good-quality olive oil. Other short pasta varieties are also suitable, and long ones can be broken up before cooking.