"For my son's birthday, I'd like to make a pasta, sausage, and lentil dish that we both ate during an Italian vacation," writes Miriam Scott of New York, New York. "We stayed at Locanda l'Elisa, located just south of Lucca in Tuscany. The hotel's greenhouse-like restaurant, the Gazebo, served the pasta dish that was so wonderful. Could you possibly track down the recipe? "
Adding some of the pasta's cooking water to this dish gives it a creamy quality.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes 6 first-course or 4 main-course servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Cook lentils in small saucepan of boiling water until tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Drain well; set aside.
Step 2
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sausage; sauté until sausage is light brown, about 8 minutes. Add wine and cook until almost all liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes. Stir in cooked lentils and cook until mixture is heated through, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Step 3
Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain well, reserving 1cup pasta cooking water. Return cooked pasta to pot. Add sausage-lentil mixture, 3/4 cup cheese, and parsley and toss to coat. Add enough reserved pasta cooking water to moisten. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve, passing additional olive oil and grated cheese.
