Lentils – Lenticchie
There’s no New Years Eve without lentils. In our family we eat them just after midnight. The belief is that eating lentils will bring you money throughout the rest of the year.
Ingredients:
1 lb. dry lentil beans
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
2 medium onions
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter
2-3 leaves fresh sage
1/4 cup tomato sauce
salt to taste
Instructions:
1. Wash the lentils and the soak them overnight in a big pan with abundant water.
2. Drain the lentils and rinse them.
3. Put the lentils in a large pan and add a whole carrot peeled, one celery stalk, one medium onion peeled and salt to taste.
4. Then add water enough to cover them.
5. Bring to a boil and the reduce to a low heat, cover them and let them simmer for about 2 – 3 hours. Check occasionally to see if they are done and that they are salted correctly.
6. Towards the end if there is too much liquid remove the lid and let the excess liquid simmer away. Of course if they are dry add a little water.
7. About a 30 minutes before they are done heat a pan with the butter and oil and add one carrot, one stalk celery and one small onion all finely chopped.
8. Sauté the vegetables for about 5 minutes and then add the tomato sauce and two fresh sage leaves.
9. Cook at a low heat for another ten minutes.
10. Add them to the lentils and cook together for 10 minutes mixing frequently.
Notes:
Serve them with “cotechino or zampone” or even alone just as the New Year rings in.
