Lentils with Cotechino

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500 g sausage (cotechino)
• Water for watering
• 350 g lentils
• 1 m.-sized onion(s)
• 1 piece(s) celery
• 1 m.-sized carrot(s)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 125 ml dry white wine
• 2 tbsp beef broth or beef stock
• Salt and pepper, white from the mill

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 day 15 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 2 hours 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 day 3 hours 5 minutes

Italian specialty with Cotechino, a cooked or slag sausage

Soak the cotechino sausage overnight. Then change the water. The sausage should be well covered with water. Bring the water to a boil and simmer gently for 2.5 hours. Caution: The skin must not be damaged, otherwise it will burst. Precook the lentils according to the package instructions. Finely chop the carrot, onion, and celery and fry them in olive oil. Drain the precooked lentils, rinse briefly with cold water, and add to the vegetables in the pan. Mix the tomato paste with the beef broth and white wine and add to the vegetables. Add the bay leaf and season with salt and pepper. Simmer gently for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pot with the cotechino from the heat and let the sausage simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Arrange the lentils on a preheated platter. Carefully remove the sausage from the water, cut into approximately 1 cm thick slices, and arrange them over the lentils.