Polenta with cotechino and lentils is a rich and delicious dish that’s easy to prepare. A creamy bed of polenta topped with stewed lentils and slices of cotechino, a real treat!
To prepare it, we used instant polenta flour to make the cooking time significantly faster. Of course, nothing stops you from using yellow cornmeal, which is ideal for preparing traditional polenta, but you should keep in mind that it will take at least 40 minutes or more to cook, depending on the consistency of the cornmeal you use. The cotechino we used is pre-cooked, further reducing the cooking time, while for the lentils, you can use pre-cooked ones, which only need a quick pot cook, or you can use dried lentils, remembering to soak them in cold water for at least 2 hours.
The preparation is very simple: sprinkle the cornmeal into the boiling salted water and stir until the polenta is cooked. Make a sauté with onion, carrot, and celery, add the lentils previously soaked in cold water, add rosemary, tomato paste, and vegetable broth, and cook for about 30 minutes. Pour the polenta onto a serving plate with the lentils and the sliced cotechino.
A different way to serve cotechino and lentils that will be great not only for New Year’s Eve and generally during the Christmas holidays, but also to enjoy all winter with its variety of flavors and aromas. Try it and let us know what you think.
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Boiling, Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: New Year, Winter
Ingredients to prepare Polenta with Cotechino and Lentils
- 10.5 oz instant polenta
- 5 1/4 cups water
- salt
- 1 pre-cooked cotechino
- 10.5 oz dried lentils
- 1 carrot
- 1 onion
- 1 stalk celery
- tomato paste
- rosemary
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- pepper
Tools to prepare Polenta with Cotechino and Lentils
- 2 Pots
- 1 Casserole
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Knife
How to prepare Polenta with Cotechino and Lentils
First prepare the polenta with cotechino and lentils by soaking the dried lentils for at least 2 hours in cold water. Drain and rinse them under running water. Naturally, if you use pre-cooked lentils, just drain them from their preserving liquid.
Cook the cotechino by immersing it in its package directly in cold water and cooking for 15-20 minutes from boiling. Let it rest for a few moments, then unwrap it, remove the skin, and cut it into slices.
Prepare the polenta by bringing about 5 1/4 cups of salted water to a boil (check the amount of water on the polenta package). Sprinkle in the flour and cook for about three minutes or for the time required based on what’s indicated on the package, always continuing to stir.
Meanwhile, prepare the lentils: peel the onion, scrape the carrot, clean the celery, and dice everything. Put all the vegetables in a saucepan with the oil, add some chopped rosemary, and let it sauté. Add the previously soaked lentils, add the tomato paste, adjust salt and pepper, and cover with vegetable broth or hot water. Let the lentils cook for about 20 minutes until they are tender.
Pour the polenta onto a serving plate, add the lentils and the sliced cotechino. Serve hot.
Storage, Tips, and Variants
You can store polenta with cotechino and lentils in the fridge, well sealed in an airtight container, for two or three days.
You can use either instant flour to cook the polenta, but if you have more time, you can replace it with cornmeal. In this case, the cooking times will necessarily be longer, about 40 minutes.
Another fancy way to serve polenta with cotechino and lentils is to make crostini. Simply pour the polenta into a mold and let it cool. Then use a pastry cutter to cut out small polenta discs that you can toast. On each polenta disc, place a spoonful of lentils and a slice of cotechino.
Another fancy way to serve polenta with cotechino and lentils is to make crostini. Simply pour the polenta into a mold and let it cool. Then use a pastry cutter to cut out small polenta discs that you can toast. On each polenta disc, place a spoonful of lentils and a slice of cotechino.
