Lentils and Pasta with Homemade Pasta Sauce

 After a long weekend camping The Husband and I came home hungry and wanting something filling.  Our friends had made some Lentils and sauce for us to eat while camping.  We added some pasta to it and it kept us going on our long hike.   Once home, I decided to recreate it for dinner.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
4-5 Cloves Garlic chopped
1 Small Red Onion chopped
1 Red Pepper chopped
6 Tomatoes chopped
6-10 Leaves Basil
Salt, Pepper, Fennel
1 Cup Dried Lentils (or cook the whole bag and have leftovers for another meal!)
1 lb Farfalle pasta 

Start cooking lentils and pasta according to the package directions.  Add salt to the water for each to add to the flavor.  Heat the oil in a sauce pan and add the garlic.  It doesn't have to be minced since we'll be blending the sauce later.

Add the onion and cook until slightly translucent.  Add the pepper and cook until it starts to soften. Add salt and pepper and some crushed fennel seeds.

Add the tomatoes and cook them until they are soft and start to break down.   Add more salt, pepper and fennel to taste.  Meanwhile, stack the basil leaves and roll them together.  Slice the basil into strips. 

Add the basil to the sauce and using an immersion blender, blend until you reach the consistency you prefer.  

I like my sauce a little chunky so this is where I stopped.  Add more salt, pepper or fennel to taste.  You can also add crushed red pepper for a little heat.  Simmer the sauce for another half hour or so. 

 Set about half of the sauce aside and add the pasta and lentils to the pot.  Stir together and serve. 

Stay tuned  later this week for what I do with the leftover sauce and lentils!