Start by washing and draining the lentils.
Into a medium sized pot, add olive oil. Add pancetta and render for a few minutes. Add carrots, celery, onion and tomato and saute until soft. Add lentils and stir to combine. Add in the water, garlic clove, parmigiano rind and season with salt and pepper.
Stir the mixture and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the flame to low medium, cover vented and simmer from 20-25 mins or until the lentils are tender.
This can also be served as a pasta dish by boiling Ditalini or Pasta Mista and adding to the lentils. Top with grated Pecorino Romano. I love it this way!
If you are serving it with Cotechino, the sausage comes precooked and just needs to be gently warmed up by being submerged in boiling for 1 hour.