Start Your New Year Off Right With Braised Lentils

By Rana DiOrio, Founder, Little Pickle Press

Photo credit - http://blog.fatfreevegan.com

The annual rite of consuming good luck food for New Year's Day is observed all over the world. Exactly what you consume depends largely on where your ancestors came from and what was available there during the winter. For options, please visit: http://bit.ly/f2sNq9.

In Italy, my ancestors eat lentils as a symbol of good luck and prosperity because the legumes resemble tiny coins. Tuscans eat lentils with cotechino, a large pork sausage. People in Bologna and Modena eat lentils with zampone, the same sausage mixture stuffed into the skin of a pig's foot. In Piedmont, little grains of rice symbolize money, so New Year's Day menus feature risotto and for added luck, a plate of beef or chicken with spinach and lentils.  

I walk with an Italian friend of mine (Tony) almost every Thursday morning. During our hour together we share many stories about growing up Italian in New England. We also share recipes. Not surprisingly, Tony is an accomplished cook (as well as a sophisticated epicurean and oenophile). At my request, he shared with me his favorite lentils preparation. It is from Neil Perry's, The Food I Love from the land down under (with Tony’s notes in parentheses):

1 cup lentils (de Puy and black caviar both work well here)

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 celery stalk, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 carrot, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1/2 white onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1/2 leek, white part only, washed and cut into 1/4-inch dice

2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary

1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme

1/4 cup white wine

7 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 cup chicken stock

1 small handful Italian parsley finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Bring lentils to a boil in a saucepan of cold water, then refresh under cold water.  (You can soak overnight and drain, but I believe they get too mushy for this recipe.)

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy saucepan over low heat; add the celery, carrot, onion, and leek and sweat, without coloring. Add the chopped rosemary and thyme and continue to sweat. Add the lentils and wine and simmer for two minutes. Add the tomato and enough stock to cover the lentils. Simmer very gently for about 90 minutes or until the lentils have cooked, adding more liquid if necessary to allow for absorption. When the lentils are ready, add the parsley, garlic, and seasoning to taste. 

Serves 4-6, or Tony twice.

No matter what you elect to make or do, we hope that your New Year celebration is delicious, festive, and fun.