New Year's Eve Cotechino sausage with Lentils, 'Cotechino con Lenticchie', is a typical Italian recipe for New Year's Eve as a symbol of good luck and prosperity for the New Year. Cotechino is a large pork sausage served with stewed lentils, a very tasty and hearty dish. Welcome the New Year like the Italians!
Song of the day: A Sky Full of Stars - Coldplay
New Year's Eve
Although not as strict as Christmas Eve, even for the December 31st dinner, Cenone di Capodanno, Italians prefer a seafood based meal. Then, cotechino con lenticchie, or cotechino sausage with lentils, are brought out in time for the stroke of midnight. As a matter of fact, Italians believe that if you start the New Year eating these coin-shaped legumes, it will bring you health, wealth, and prosperity. Normally, even if it's midnight, and it follows a big meal, a couple of tablespoons are eaten just to honor the tradition. Then, leftovers cotechino with lentils are reheated and served on New Year's Day for lunch.
Ingredients
- pre-cooked and vacuum-packed cotechino
- dry lentils
- evo oil
- garlic
- carrot, onion, celery, finely diced
- fresh thyme, optional
- bay leaf, optional
- salt and pepper to taste
- passata or pureed San Marzano tomatoes
- vegetable broth
What is Cotechino
Cotechino is a large pork sausage made using lean pork meat, fat, and pork rind flavored with herbs and spices like cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg. Cotechino, in fact, comes from the word cotica which means pork rind. It originates from Modena, in the Emilia Romagna region, in Northern Italy, and is very tasty on its own. However, it gets even better served on a bed of lentils, sliced up in thick slices. Normally, before and during the holidays, you can find cotechino in the Italian stores, sold pre-cooked in a large vacuum-packed pouch. That makes our lives easier, because it cooks in about 20 minutes.
How to prepare Cotechino
- Fill a large pot with 4 liters of cold water. Place the pouch with the cotechino in and turn on heat to high. Once it starts to boil, cook for 20-25 minutes.
- Take out of water, open the pouch and drain the liquid (fat) into a bowl and discard (do not pour down the drain as it is a fat and it will solidify and clog the drain).
- Place cotechino on a cutting board and let cool. Then, slice into half inch (roughly 1.5 cm) thick rounds. Set aside.
The Lentils
- Soak the lentils in cold water for 1-2 hours. Rinse, drain, and set aside. You could soak the lentils overnight, that will reduce the cooking time.
- In a large crock pot, drizzle in evo oil. Toss in diced veggies, garlic, fresh thyme and bay leaf. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Turn heat to a medium and saute for 5 minutes. Take out thyme sprigs and discard.
- Add the lentils, stir, and cook for 1 minute. Then, pour in the passata, stir, and add 1 liter of the vegetable broth.
- Simmer on low to medium heat, stirring frequently, for 40-50 minutes or until lentils are tender but still with a bite. Add more broth/water if needed during the cooking process.
Assembling New Year's Eve Cotechino sausage with Lentils
- When lentils are done, turn off heat and add the cotechino rounds. Stir gently and plate. If you want, you can plate the lentils and add the cotechino rounds on top. However, we like to add them before to bring some of their flavor to the mix.
- To reheat, place the pot on low with a little bit of water or broth.
Variations and substitutions
If not for dinner, or midnight, on New Year's Eve, or on January 1st, you can always serve Cotechino sausage with Lentils anytime you want. It's a very warm and comforting dish for the winter season.
If cotechino is not available to you, you could replace it with regular Italian sausages. Boil it, slice it, and add it to the lentils.
In addition, why not pair sausage and lentils with some mashed potatoes or potato puree? It is a great accompaniment.
Finally, if you prefer, you can skip the tomato passata in the lentils. I think it adds a lovely flavor, in fact, my mother always add some to our lentils.
The fact that it is supposed to bring you luck for the New Year, not to mention how incredibly delicious it is, should win you over to make New Year's Eve Cotechino sausage with Lentils. You really can't lose. Remember, according to tradition, the more lentils you eat, the more prosperous you'll be. Wink, wink.
Happy New Year from us!
PrintNew Year's Eve Cotechino sausage with Lentils
New Year's Eve Cotechino sausage with Lentils, 'Cotechino con Lenticchie', is a typical Italian recipe for New Year's Eve as a symbol of good luck and prosperity for the New Year. Cotechino is a large pork sausage served with stewed lentils, a very tasty and hearty dish. Welcome the New Year like the Italians!
- Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Main, Meat
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 1 pre-cooked cotechino (500 g)
- 300 g (1 ¼ cup) dry lentils
- 2 tablespoons evo oil
- 1 small garlic clove
- ½ carrot, finely diced
- ½ onion, finely diced
- ½ celery stick, finely diced
- 2 sprigs of fresh thyme, optional
- 1 bay leaf, optional
- 150 g (½ cup) passata or pureed San Marzano tomatoes
- 1 liter + 1 cup (5 cups) vegetable broth
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Lentils
- Soak the lentils in cold water for 1-2 hours. Rinse, drain, and set aside.
- In a large crock pot, drizzle in evo oil. Toss in diced veggies, garlic, fresh thyme and bay leaf. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Turn heat to a medium and saute for 5 minutes. Take out thyme sprigs and discard.
- Add the lentils, stir, and cook for 1 minute. Then, pour in the passata, stir, and add 1 liter of the vegetable broth.
- Simmer on low to medium heat, stirring frequently until lentils are tender but still with a bite. For us, it took about 50 minutes. Add more broth/water if needed during the cooking process.
Cotechino
- While lentils are cooking, fill a large pot with 4 liters of cold water. Place the pouch with the cotechino in and turn on heat to high. Once it starts to boil, cook for 20-25 minutes.
- Take out of water, open the pouch and drain the liquid (fat) into a bowl and discard (do not pour down the drain as it is a fat and it will solidify and clog the drain).
- Place cotechino on a cutting board and let cool. Then, slice into half inch (roughly 1.5 cm) thick rounds. Set aside.
Assembly
- When lentils are done, turn off heat and add the cotechino rounds. Stir gently and plate. If you want, you can plate the lentils and add the cotechino rounds on top.
- To reheat, place the pot on low with a little bit of water or broth.
Notes
If you soak the lentils overnight, the cooking time may be reduced.
Both cotechino and lentils can be done ahead. Gently reheat them before serving. To reheat, place the pot on low with a little bit of water or broth.
If you can't find cotechino you can use a good quality Italian sausage. Boil it, slice it, then add it to the lentils.
Potato puree or mashed potatoes are a great accompaniment.
I love baking and kneading dough because it takes me to a happy place in my soul.
Marta says
We've been trying to incorporate new traditions for the holidays and gave this cotechino with lentils a go for New Year's Eve. It was so fantastic that we'll be making it more often throughout the year.
Hi Marta, that is so special and we are so grateful that you chose to make this for New Years. Even happier that you enjoyed it so much! It is such a rich tradition for us and we are so happy to share it with you!
Thank you!
Gloria says
Lentils are so easy to make. This is a great dinner for any night of the week. Just in time for comfort food season.
Hi Gloria, you are so right. It definitely is comfort food season and we love the richness that lentils brings to any dish! Thanks!
veenaazmanov says
I loved reading your description to this new combination and tradition. Lentils and sausage combination is a must try dish for the new year. Sounds like my comfort food.
Hi Veena, we are so happy you feel that way. That is the beauty of food, it brings us all together and inspires us to no end!
Thanks for your thoughts!
Alexandra says
A wonderful tradition to uphold and welcome a successful new year! A simple to prepare, deliciously flavoursome recipe. The lentil base is so good and we love the cotechino. Grazie Mille for a superb recipe!
Hi Alexander, Thank you for trying this lentil recipe. So happy you liked the cotechino! It adds so much flavor and richness to the lentils. An added bonus for sure!
Kim says
Such a fun idea! I love that they use lentils as an option aside from the popular black eyed peas we see. Looking forward to making this all year!
Hi Kim, I never knew the tradition with the black eyed peas. Always so interesting to find out about other traditions. I bet it is delicious also. Thanks for sharing!
Kathryn says
Love lentils especially on New Years so this was a huge hit and it made great leftovers! Can't wait to make this again 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Kathryn, That is just so wonderful, always makes us smile ear to ear, hearing that the recipe was so enjoyed by all. We are grateful that you tried it, thanks for your lovely words!
Lori | The Kitchen Whisperer says
I added the ingredients to my shopping list as this is on the menu for next week. This looks so hearty and comforting! We're having a cold spell here in Arizona and this looks perfect!
Hi Lori, this is a perfect dish to warm you up. It is substantial and flavorful!
Thank you for wanting to try it. Would love to hear your thoughts on this dish!
Cheers!
Cathleen says
This looks amazing!! I am so excited to try it, I already put all of the ingredients on my shopping list. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe 🙂
Hi Cathleen, Hope you find the cotechino, it makes a world of difference! So excited for you to try this!
Happy cooking!
Lisa Grant says
I love the combination of lentils with sausages! As a kid we always ate lentils on New Year’s Day.
We love hearing peoples stories about their traditions. Us too eat lentils not only at midnight but also on New Years day.
Krysten says
I came here looking for a healthy beans and sausage recipe and was pleased to see this version made with lentils. I never knew this was a New Year tradition but I am always eager to learn! My favorite part of this dish was the perfect flavor added from the San Marzano tomatoes. Delicious!
Thank you Krysten, Yes the tomatoes add such a beautiful brightness and color, and the flavor spectacular!