Lentils with Homemade Vegan Pasta

In a medium soup pot, start sautéing onions by stirring them a bit. Add ½ cup water to deglaze the pan and help the onions start to brown. Stir water in and continuing sautéing for another 3 minutes. Add garlic and stir for another 30 seconds to release their sugars.

Add rinsed lentils, vegetable broth (or reconstituted vegetable stock cubes) and bring the pot to a boil. Turn heat down, cover and simmer lentils until they become tender, about 40 minutes. Check the lentils a few times and add more water or broth if they are getting dry and still not cooked.

While lentils are simmering, prepare pasta by mixing flour and salt in a small mixing bowl.

Add ½ cup of water and stir to moisten the flour and start forming a dough. Using your hand, start kneading the dough a bit, adding more water if necessary until you have a dough that is soft and a bit shaggy, but will hold together enough to be rolled flat.

Allow the dough to rest for about 10 minutes before you start cutting the noodles. (This is a good time to make a quick side salad or chop the cilantro.)

To make the pasta, lightly flour a flat surface and use a rolling pin to roll the dough flat (about ¼ inch thick). Cut the dough into strips that are about 1 x 4 inches. Expect a few odd sizes, it won’t matter once you add them to the lentils.

When lentils are tender, add about a quarter of the pasta. Carefully stir in and repeat the process until you have all the pasta in the pot. Check to ensure that you have enough water to moisten the pasta. You can add another cup of water or broth if you are concerned the pasta won’t cook. You don’t need much here and if you add too much, it won’t matter as you’ll just end up with extra sauce.

When the pasta is tender (about 4–5 minutes), stir in chopped cilantro. Serve immediately with extra cilantro as a garnish if desired.