Spaghetti With Lentils, Tomato and Fennel Recipe (2024)

I think it would be a good idea to mash the lentils somewhat to make them easier to eat with the pasta. So they get more sauce-like. It worked for me.

This seemed dry and not so saucy to me, so I added a full 28 oz of crush tomatoes. Very good. Looking forward to leftovers.

I plan to serve this lentil recipe over spaghetti squash in lieu of pasta.

Is the spaghetti with marmalade and salami really good, or really bad? I'm curious.

I used chicken stock instead of water for the lentils and ended up adding all of the liquid to the final sauce. i also used a full 14 oz can of crushed tomatoes. I’d make this again if I had some fennel I didn’t know what to do with.

The dish worked out very well, tasty and rich and much like a bolognese as described. However, our experience followed that of others in that the lentils soaked up much of the water which we replenished with tomato water to keep it saucy. Otherwise, this would have been very dry. Surprisingly, we did not discern much fennel flavor in the dish although the overall flavor was wonderful. We wanted to add some fennel sausage, but we had none on hand. This was still a great dish without the meat.

This turned out really great using gnocchi instead of spaghetti! I added the gnocchi (the soft shelf stable ones) to the pan at the same time as the garlic and tomatoes (two medium sized heirloom tomatoes in large chunks instead of canned) and let them simmer until the tomatoes just started to get soft. Then added the lentils and let it all simmer for a few more minutes. Other additions were a splash of wine to deglaze onion/fennel mixture and then a little sherry vinegar for brightness.

I left out the pasta and loved it as a side dish

Excellent!

Cooked as directed (mostly). Fabulous. Parmesan rind is magic!

This was “surprisingly good”, says my husband. He ‘s right! I had a few fennel bulbs from the farmer’s market hanging around and everything else in the pantry. It’s such an unusual combination of ingredients but it it delicious! For sure making this meatless wonder again.

Made it exactly according to the recipe. It is bland and boring. Maybe cooking the noodles in vegetable broth would have helped, but the problem is with the sauce.

I've been making a tomato sauce with lentils for years. This was a revelation. Only a bit of tomato. I did add a little more than David Tanis' excellent recipe. Then added the thick lentil water and some pasta water to make it saucier. The fennel makes itnseem like you're eating sausage. Sooo satisfying!

Yum, better than I expected. Used all of the lentil water to moisten the sauce. The fennel gives it a meaty quality as if it had been aromatized by a classic lasagna bolognese without actually being one.

Unlikely combination but delicious. Needed more tomato sauce and then pasta water to thin the mixture out. Will make it again.

This was surprisingly simple and delicious. I didn’t have fennel bulb so just added the onion. Had leftover store bought marinara in place of the passata. Used lentils de puy. Really nourishing and nice. It’s going into the rotation.

This was “surprisingly good”, says my husband. He ‘s right! I had a few fennel bulbs from the farmer’s market hanging around and everything else in the pantry. It’s such an unusual combination of ingredients but it it delicious! For sure making this meatless wonder again.

I am not a lentil fan and I never would have tried this recipe but my husband insisted on making it after a Parisienne friend suggested lentils and pasta go well together. The only change he did was to leave out the salt but added a few anchovies. He did overcook the lentils but I think that worked out well. Excellent recipe and we will add to our cooking roster.

Cooked as directed (mostly). Fabulous. Parmesan rind is magic!

I used chicken stock instead of water for the lentils and ended up adding all of the liquid to the final sauce. i also used a full 14 oz can of crushed tomatoes. I’d make this again if I had some fennel I didn’t know what to do with.

I only had a red onion and I think it came out great. I also tossed a bit of chickpea miso to the noodles prior to serving.

Excellent!

I left out the pasta and loved it as a side dish

I used an immersion blender at the end to make the sauce more saucy. I didn’t puree everything, just enough to give it a more sauce-like consistency.

I enjoyed this dish quite a bit, but I’m a huge fan of lentil. I didn’t have fennel fronds, really, as Trader Joe’s fennel comes trimmed. I used bucatini—Trader Joe’s had bucatini, glory be!!—and topped it off with crumbled Pecorino.

I enjoyed this dish quite a bit, but I’m a huge fan of lentils. Used 26 oz of chopped tomatoes, thank you, kind and astute note-leavers. I didn’t really have fennel fronds, as Trader Joe’s fennel comes trimmed. Doubled the garlic. Used bucatini—TJ’s has bucatini, glory be!! Topped it off with crumbled Pecorino.