For most Italians New Year wouldn’t be the same without il cotechino con le lenticchie (cotechino with lentils).

According to popular folklore, eating this dish for either il Cenone di Capodanno (The Big New Year’s Eve Dinner) or on the First of January will bring good luck to the rest of the year.

Il cotechino, originally from Emilia Romagna, is un insaccato, which literally means ‘a bagged’, a word used to describe meat products such as salami or sausages. Cotechino however differs from salami in that it is cooked by a very slow boiling process that can last up to four hours. Originally it was a dish eaten by poor peasants, as it is made with the waste parts of the pig, all minced together with aromatic herbs and spices, and then stuffed into pig entrails. The name cotechino, in fact, actually comes from la cotica (the pigskin), which is one of the main ingredients. Va bene, basta così, or Geoff is going to feel nauseous when he proofreads this article!

Today cotechino is usually industrially made, and people will buy it precooked and packed in foil bags, basta seguire le istruzioni sul pacco (just follow the instructions on the packet). Well, I used to like it when I was a child, but now, since I’m vegetarian, I don’t cook it. However, as cotechino is traditionally eaten with lentils for il Capodanno, and I adore lentils, here is a simple tasty recipe for the vegetarian version: Lenticchie senza cotechino (you could always use veggie sausages!)

Preparation:

Soak the lentils in cold water for a couple of hours. Rinse them and put them in a saucepan with the bay leaf, cover with water and leave them to cook on a low heat for at least an hour from the moment the water begins to boil.

Peel and finely chop the carrot, onion and celery stalk. Put them in a casserole with the olive oil and sauté them gently for about five minutes, stirring often. Drain the lentils, which should be soft but not mushy, and add them to il soffritto (fried onion, carrot and celery). Add the salt and leave them to absorb the flavour for about ten minutes, stirring often.

Serve the lentils warm with slices of hot cotechino (or veggie sausages), and some mashed potatoes if you like.

Buon Appetito e Auguri di Buon Anno!