Italian Lentil Marinara Pressure Cooker Recipe

Italian Lentil Marinara Pressure Cooker Recipe

Ingredients

Makes 8 cups, enough for 2 pounds pasta – Cooker: 5- to 7-quart – Time: 8 minutes at HIGH pressure

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large white or yellow onion or 3 shallots, chopped
• ½ cup diced carrot
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 pinches chili powder or red pepper flakes
• 2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes in juice, crushed with your hands or pureed with an immersion blender inserted into the can
• 1¼ cups small green or brown lentils (lentils du Puy or di Castelluccio di Norcia), rinsed and picked over
• 2 cups water or vegetable broth
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• sea salt
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh flatleaf parsley
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh basil

Method

1. In a 5- to 7-quart pressure cooker, heat the oil over medium-high heat
2. Add the onion and cook, stirring a few times until it just begins to soften, about 3 minutes
3. Add the carrot, celery, garlic, bay leaves, and chili powder, and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds
4. Add the tomatoes and their juice, lentils, and water
5. Add the tomato paste on top; do not stir it in
6. Close and lock the lid
7. If you like, place a heat diffuser on the burner and the pressure cooker on the diffuser
8. Set the burner heat to high
9. When the cooker reaches HIGH pressure, reduce the burner heat as low as you can and still maintain HIGH pressure
10. Set a timer to cook for 8 minutes
11. Remove the pot from the heat
12. Open the cooker with the Quick Release method
13. Be careful of the steam as you remove the lid
14. Taste for salt, then stir in the parsley and basil
15. Add pasta cooking water to thin, if necessary
16. The lentils should be tender
17. Use or let cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days or the freezer 4 to 6 months
18. The sauce will thicken as it cools, so add a little water when reheating
19. Creamy Lentil Marinara: In Step 3 before serving, add 1 cup heavy cream (you won’t need the pasta water) to the sauce
20. Stir to combine
21. Simmer a few minutes to heat
22. Lentil Marinara with Pancetta: In Step 1, saute 2 ounces chopped pancetta in 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat until crisp
23. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate
24. Continue as directed, adding the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the pot
25. Add the pancetta back to the pot with the tomatoes

Full List of Sauce Recipes
Full List of Italian Recipes