Brown Lentil & Pasta Soup

From "Perfect Pasta" published by Parragon Publishing
"Brown Lentil & Pasta Soup" page 14

I was not overwhelmingly happy with this dish. The whole thing turned a sort of muddy brown color (the mint didn't keep any of its green and both the broth and the pasta turned the same shade of brown as the lentils). I was unable to find the canned lentils that the recipe calls for and used dried lentils. When I looked up online and on the packaging how to cook them, everything I found indicated that I should just throw them in the soup and let them cook in there... unfortunately, they used up all the broth and then some to cook and they took a very long time. By the time the lentils were done, the pasta was mushy.

Tasted like Navy Bean soup, but was much more difficult. Might as well make Navy Bean soup...