I love experimenting with new ingredients and the other day, a lovely nectarine coloured packet of swirly pasta just stood out on the shelf. Lentil Pasta? Oooh , that sounds new, lovely, and very organic. Truthfully I didn’t really even know that pasta could be made from Lentils so this was really quite a revelation. Plus, how amazing is this – it’s Gluten and Grain free! Full of protein and an almost non-existent fat content – I was rather excited!

So, it worked out really quite well at the end and the flavour is certainly far more earthy and textural than the regular pastas. However, I will say that I was disappointed that the colour did leach out during the boiling process so it wasn’t quite as deep orange as I would of liked it to be. That said, if the taste is so delicious, does it really matter? What I would do is to sprinkle a few of the spirals on an under-plate beneath the serving bowl so it also becomes a subject of fun conversation…

  • Boil the pasta in a large pot of salted water for 8 -12 minutes until just tender. Drain quickly and set aside, adding a tsp of oil to prevent it from sticking.
  • Now add 2 tbs olive oil to a wide pan and sauté the zatar spice for 30 seconds or so. Add the button mushrooms and minced garlic and stir fry until the mushrooms just start to soften.
  • Add the peppers and stir fry for a few more minutes, making sure you retain the bright red of the pepper.
  • Add the Spanish paprika and the crushed red peppercorns. Add the cream and gently fold this mixture together.
  • Pour this warm rich sauce over the pasta and fold together gently. ( You can reheat the pasta in a microwave for 2 minutes before doing this to ensure everything is piping hot)
  • Just before serving add the cubed avocado and just fold through last minute. The green of the avocado and the red peppers are just so pretty!
  • Serve in deep bowls with a shaving of pecorino and lots of olive oil on the side…