Pork Sausage and Lentils (Cotechino e Lenticchie)

Pork Sausage and Lentils
(Cotechino e Lenticchie)

Serves 4-6

Pork Sausage and Lentils is a traditional New Year's dish in Italy.
Lentils are purported to bring wealth and good fortune. In Lombardy dialect zecchini - coins from the 1500's - were also called lenticchie, which gave rise to lentil's association with prosperity and good health. The best lentils are Italian, especially the Colfiorito lentils. These delicious lentils are from northern Lazio:

The best cotechino comes from the Modena area and dates back to the sixteenth century. Legend has it that in 1511 when Mirandola (near Modena) was under attack by Pope Giulio II's armed forces, the local residents butchered their pigs and stored the meat in cotenna (pork skin) and zampe (pig legs), to keep their animals from ending up in the hands of the enemy.
Cotechino and zampone are both made from lean pork meat, fat and cotenna, delicately flavored with herbs and spices: cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg.

In 1999 cotechino from Modena achieved IGP status and as of 2017 the addition of ingredients like MSG and milk solids is no longer permitted. Nowadays when you buy an IGP cotechino from Modena it's lean and delicious!

Ingredients:

Pork sausage, 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds)
Lentils, rinsed, 300 grams (1 ½)
Carrot, 1 medium, minced
Celery, 1 stalk, minced
Onion, ½ medium, minced
Peperoncino, 1 small
Olive oil, 40 grams or 44 millileters (3 tablespoons)
Bay leaves, 4
Salt, 1 ½ teaspoons

Procedure:

Cook the sausage according to package instructions, which will usually be as follows:
Pierce the pork sausage package on all sides, using a small wooden skewer stick.
Place in a pot of cold water large enough to cover the entire package.
Bring the water to a simmer and simmer for 15 minutes or according to package instructions.
Sauté the carrot, celery and onion in olive oil until tender, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the lentils, peperoncino and bay leaves, and cover with salted water so the lentils are covered with 1 cm (½ inch) of water atop the lentils as they cook. Add more water as necessary.
Cook the lentils according to package instructions or until just tender.
Remove the pork sausage from the package and slice into 1 centimeter wide slices.
Place the lentils in a serving dish and add the sliced sausage.
Add additional salt to taste.
Heat thoroughly in the oven before serving the Pork Sausage and Lentils.

Try this great New Year's Eve dessert treat!

Interested in what was happening in Rome during the 2019 holiday season? Take a look!

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