Cotechino with lentils: the tradition of Italy

Recipe by Giallo Zafferano

Cotechino with lentils is a typical main meal of the Christmas menu and especially as a perfect main meal for New Year’s Eve. This also applies to the tomato sauce version of cotechino with lentils: as tradition says, eating a portion of cotechino before midnight is a good wish for the new year. Cotechino pork meat is rich in intense and spicy flavours and this makes it perfect to be cooked gradually into the water or broth until becoming tender and succulent. The unique cotechino flavour combines magnificently with stewed lentils, always considered an auspice of wealth for the coming year. Nowadays the traditional combination of cotechino-lentils has been presented in more different versions, from the most simple to the most refined ones, such as a mille-feuille cotechino and lentils or cotechino with potato cream. Additionally, it is possible to propose again some savoury Christmas recipes such as the unforgettable paccheri with cotechino Bolognese sauce or polenta and cotechino timbale.

· Difficulty: Easy
· Preparation: 15 min
· Cooking: 50 min
· Doses per: 4 people
· Price: Low
· Calories per portion: 811 kcal

THE HISTORY

Cotechino was born as a poor dish eaten habitually by farmers with legume soups and vegetable soup. In ancient times, the typical product from the Emilian city of Modena was only and exclusively prepared by “lardaroli” and “salsicciari”, the former “beccai” (butchers), who decided to create an independent corporation just starting from 1547.

However, in reality the first quote regarding cotechino was made only after two hundred years, in 1745, at a ceiling price and the first recipe appeared the following year.

Cotechino achieved its importance in recent times thanks to Pellegrino Artusi, the father of Italian cuisine. For the first time, Artusi talked about the famous “cotechino fasciato” (“wrapped cotechino”) inside his immense work, “Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well”.

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients for cotechino
300 g of precooked cotechino

For lentils
For lentils
300 g of dried lentils
1 stalk of celery
1 medium carrot
1 white onion
35 g of extra virgin olive oil
3 leaves of bay tree
2 sprigs of rosemary
500 g of vegetable broth
Table salt as required
Black pepper as required

PREPARATION

For cooking cotechino with lentils, soak lentils in cold water for 2 hours as a first step. After the time has elapsed, drain and rinse them under running water. In the meantime, cook cotechino complying with the instructions reported on the package. In this case, cotechino had to be immersed into the cold water and cooked for about 20 minutes, starting from the boiling point.
Now deal with stir-fry: peel, then cut carrots into thin strips first and dice instantly. Do the same with celery, then clean and chop up the onion as well. Pour and warm up the olive oil inside a saucepan. Add and brown chopped vegetables for a couple of minutes. After which pour lentils previously sunk, seasoned with black pepper and salt, aromatize with sprigs of rosemary and leaves of bay tree tied together with twine. With this method you will be able to remove herbs more easily at the end of cooking. Cover lentils with warm vegetable broth, cook for 20 minutes or more based on the solidity preferred, adding broth if needed.
At the end of cooking, remove the bunch of herbs and keep cooked lentils warm. In the meantime drain, unwrap and transfer cotechino into a cutting board when cooked, but be careful not to burn yourselves. Peel and cut it into slices. To conclude, serve the warm dish of cotechino with lentils. Additionally, you can serve it with creamy and delicious mashed potatoes at your own discretion, as tradition dictates in Modena: it will be unforgettable!

CONSERVATION

Once cotechino has cooled down, it can be stored inside a container hermetically closed into a fridge for 2-3 days.