Fresh Pasta with Lentils and Caramelized Onions

This is an easy to make vegetarian dish that has very few ingredients!  It can be made with fresh or dried pasta.  I bought some fresh, but the original recipe specifically called for dried.  Part of the theory for using dried pasta is that it cooks in the same pot as the lentils, which should add more lentil flavor.  So, my fresh pasta version is probably less earthy than what the recipe intended.  The first time I made it a few weeks ago, I thought it was a little bland, but that was very easily rectified with a few dashes of Aleppo pepper.  Regular crushed red pepper would work too.  The most important thing for the flavor of this dish is to really let the onions caramelize. 

Lentils with Pasta and Caramelized Onions
From Arabesque
Serves 2. 

Ingredients:
Fresh or dried linguine (I used about 2/3 of a package of fresh pasta)
1/2 large onion, sliced (I used a regular Spanish onion)
1/2 cup brown or green lentils, rinsed very well
3 Tbsp olive oil
A good bit of chopped flat leaf parsley
salt and pepper
Aleppo pepper

Method:
1)  Cook the onions in ~1 Tbsp olive oil until they are brown and caramelized, stirring often.  Start with the lid on to help them soften more quickly.  I did this over medium - medium low heat and then put it up a little higher for the last few minutes.  I started the onions before I did anything else to make the dish, and they were ready by the time I was done.
2) Rinse the lentils and boil them in enough water that the pasta will also be covered.  Boil the lentils for 15 minutes (or according to the bag if the instructions are different, my bag said 15). 
3) Add some salt to the pot with the lentils.  Add the fresh pasta to the same pot and cook according to package. 
4) Drain pasta and lentils.  Toss with the onions, parsley and remaining olive oil.   Top with Aleppo pepper to taste (shockingly, I only used a little).