Recipe: Kushari Standard Base

1. A single serving consists of 6 oz. of capellini pasta, 3 oz. of pipette pasta, 1 oz. of red lentils and 1 oz. of black lentils.

For the pasta:

1. Fill 2 large sauce/stock pots with salted water and bring to a boil.
2. Dedicate one pot to the capellini and one to the pipette.
3. Prepare 2 colanders to strain the pasta once cooked. Additionally, prepare a container filled with ice to shock the pasta.
4. The capellini will cook faster than the pipette. Once each pasta is al dente, strain into the colanders and rinse with cold water to wash away residual starch. Add the ice to stop the pasta from overcooking. Once the ice has melted and the capellini and pipette are well strained, reserve in a covered container under refrigeration.

For the lentils:

1. Place each lentil variety on a separate half-size sheet tray. Pick through the lentils and discard any broken pieces, stones or foreign material.
2. Place each lentil type inside separate colanders.
3. Rinse under cold water until the water is clear.
4. Meanwhile, fill 2 sauce pots with 25 oz. of water each and heat.
5. When the water boils add the red lentils to 1 pot and the black beluga lentils to the other.
6. IMPORTANT! Simmer the red lentils for 5 minutes, pull off the heat and cover with a fitted lid for another 2 minutes.
7. For the black beluga lentils, simmer for 15 minutes, remove from the heat and cover for another 5 minutes.
8. Strain each lentil type separately using mesh strainers, discarding any cooking liquid.
9. Separately, place the red and black lentils on half-size sheet trays lined with parchment.
10. Season with salt and pepper.
11. Place the lentils under refrigeration until cool and then transfer to deli containers.