Cotechino con Lenticchie

Italy

About Cotechino con Lenticchie

Cotechino con Lenticchie is the traditional Italian New Year's Eve dish: slices of cotechino, a large, soft pork sausage, served on a bed of lentils stewed with onion, celery and carrot.

Cotechino is made from pork meat, fat and rind and comes from Modena in Emilia-Romagna. It is simmered slowly for several hours, which makes it tender, rich and slightly gelatinous.

Lentils are eaten at midnight because their round, coin-like shape is said to bring money and good fortune in the new year. The fatty pork is also a symbol of abundance. Zampone, a stuffed pig's trotter, is sometimes served instead of cotechino.

Ingredients

• cotechino sausage
• lentils
• onion
• celery
• carrot
• broth
• olive oil