Italian Lentils with Rice

blue rimmed bowl with lentils and rice on colorful dish cloth with spoon on side

Italian Lentils with Rice

My mother's Italian Lentils with Rice is a hearty, comforting dish for an easy winter night's meal. This dish can be endlessly varied with whichever vegetables you have on hand.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword lentils with rice, Italian lentils with rice

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 40

Total Time 50

Servings -8 servings

Calories 382kcal

Author Nadia Fazio

Ingredients

2 carrots diced
2 ribs celery diced
1 onion diced
3 tbsp olive oil plus extra for drizzling before serving
1 medium ripe tomato seeded and cubed
2 cups brown lentils or other variety of your choice, rinced and drained
8 cups water (or more according to desired consistency)
2 bay leaves
Parmigiano cheese rind optional
1/2 cup long grain rice
handful small pasta ditalini, tubettini, shells or other (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Chop up the vegetables for your soffrito (carrots, celery and onion) in even sized pieces.
Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan or dutch oven. Add carrots, celery, onions and a pinch of salt and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 7 minutes.
Toss in a cubed, seeded tomato, a pinch of salt and cook for 3 minutes longer until the tomato starts to break down. Stir in rinsed and drained brown lentils and cook for 1 minute.
Pour in water (or stock if you prefer) and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer, cover and let cook for 20 minutes. At this point you may toss in the Parmigiano rind, if using
Uncover and stir in the rice. You may also decided how "soupy" you want your final dish to be. I like a thick, heartier dish so I tend to add less water. Adjust the amount of water you add according to the texture you prefer. Cook covered for 20 more minutes or until the rice and lentils are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.
If, as my mom does, you wish to add a handful of pasta, simply toss it in the final 10 minutes of cooking.
Remove and discard bay leaves and cheese rind. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Serve hot with Parmigiano cheese at the table, if desired.

Notes

Brown lentils can be replaced with any variety of lentils.
Add other vegetables you may have available such as zucchini; squash; leeks; greens; potatoes or broccoli.
The water can be replaced with chicken or vegetable stock, if you prefer.
Use canned diced tomatoes if you don't have a ripe tomato.
Add cubed pancetta or sausage without the casing to your soffrito for a heartier, extra flavorful dish.
Replace the long grain rice with arborio, basmati or other variety you have on hand.
Keep a pot of simmering water on hand to add as needed if your lentils soak up all the liquid and become too dry. You can choose to add more water to make your dish more soup like or less for a stew-like consistency.
Serve with Parmigiano cheese at the table, if desired.
This recipe may be halved.
Leftovers keep well refrigerated up to 5 days or frozen up to 3 months.
Please note that the nutritional information is approximate and may vary according to exact ingredients used and portion size.

Nutrition