Grandma’s Lentils and Macaroni (or Rice, or Simply Solo)

Serves 6 to 8

Lentil soup with macaroni was one of my favorite meals as a kid.  My grandmother made this dish at least every other week (sometimes weekly), and if there were leftovers I made sure they had my name on it.  The lentils are great on their own as a thick soup, but add a little cooked pasta and you have a fantastic, rich and healthy main dish.  This dish can also be served with rice or any simple grain you have on hand.

Ingredients
1 lb of pasta
1 lb package of dried lentils
Olive oil
1 large onion, chopped small
2 cloves of garlic, minced fine
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced into ¼ to ½ inch disks
2 bay leaves
1 large can of whole or chopped tomatoes (28 ounces) or 3 to four large tomatoes, chopped
2 medium, thin-skinned potatoes, cut in half
Salt and pepper

Instructions
Wash and pick over dried lentils, removing any rocks
In a large heavy bottomed soup or sauce-pot, heat three tablespoons of olive oil over low medium heat.
Sautee chopped onion in oil, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes (until translucent).
Add minced garlic, ½ tsp of salt and pepper.  Sautee for two minutes.
Add carrots.  Sautee for five minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the rinsed lentils, chopped tomatoes, and bay leaves to the pot. 
Add enough water to the pot to cover the lentils by one inch.
Add the potatoes. 
Turn up the flame to high, bring the pot to a boil, then lower and simmer partially covered.
Cook until the lentils are soft, adding more water as is needed to keep the lentils just covered. 
The lentils can take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and half to cook (depending on freshness, and levels of heat). 
Try the lentils at 45 minutes.  If they are hard, continue to cook, trying them every 15 minutes to test for doneness. 
The lentils are done when they are soft and almost slipping from the skins.
Once the lentils are cooked, remove the potatoes from the pot.  Mash them with a fork or potato masher until fine.  Return the mashed potatoes to the pot and stir in completely.  This last step will thicken the soup nicely.
Cook the pasta until done.  Add enough lentils to dress the pasta completely, or more to give it a hearty soup feel.  You can also serve the lentils solo as a soup, or over rice or millet or quinoa.