Lentil and cotechino baskets, a lucky New Year’s appetizer, a simple and quick idea to bring lentils to the table in a tasty way for New Year’s. A small taste as an appetizer, served in a bread basket, lentils stewed with the addition of cotechino in small pieces, so it will be more appreciated and won’t weigh down the New Year’s Eve dinner or New Year’s lunch. I love lentils and often prepare them all year round, here is my recipe for excellent lentils cooked in a crock or pot. Eating lentils at New Year’s is considered good luck, as their shape resembling small coins symbolizes wealth and prosperity, so consuming them at New Year’s is a good omen, and they certainly cannot be missing. You can also make this recipe with leftovers, maybe prepare the lentils with cotechino for dinner, and with the leftovers, you can quickly make this delicious appetizer.
Here you find more ideas for the holidays
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 10
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients to prepare lentil and cotechino baskets
- 1 1/3 cup lentils
- as needed celery
- as needed carrot
- as needed onion
- 2 tablespoons tomato sauce
- as needed salt
- as needed water
- as needed olive oil
- 10 slices sandwich bread
- as needed olive oil
- 5 oz pre-cooked cotechino
Tools to prepare lentil and cotechino baskets
- 2 Pots
- 1 Cookie cutter
- 1 Muffin mold
Steps to prepare lentil and cotechino baskets
Start preparing the lentils at least an hour in advance. Wash them, put them in a pot, add chopped onion, celery, and carrot, add the sauce, a drizzle of oil, a pinch of salt, and cover with water, about 3 times the volume of the lentils. Cook for about 30 minutes, until they are completely dry.
Put a large pot filled with 2/3 water on the stove, where you cook the cotechino in boiling water for about 30 minutes, in its vacuum-sealed package, but check the instructions on the package if using pre-cooked. Let it cool a bit before opening.
Cut the sandwich bread or long sandwich bread into flower shapes with a cookie cutter; in this case, you’ll need 5 long slices. Make 10 pieces, brush with a little olive oil, arrange them in a muffin mold, and put them in a preheated ventilated oven at 375°F for about 1 minute, until golden.
Shortly before serving, fill the baskets with a nice spoonful of lentils and a bit of diced cotechino. Do not put the lentils too hot in the baskets; the cotechino can be hot, so the baskets will remain crunchy and crispy.
