You are reading our Cooking newsletter
Sign up to get a taste of Los Angeles — and the world — in your own home and in your inbox every Friday
By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy.
I’m only superstitious if the superstition serves me, which is why I make lentils every year to share with friends and family as we ring in the new year.
Eating lentils, or lenticchie, on New Year’s Eve — traditionally at midnight — is an Italian tradition said to invite prosperity in the year to come. Since I’m a fan of prosperity and lentils, I really can’t think of a reason not to eat them. I often throw a New Year’s Day party around this tradition, to let my friends and family in on the riches and fun.
Traditionally, in Italy, Umbrian lentils (which are small, like French lentils, in varying shades of brown) are served with cotechino, a fat pork sausage from Emilia-Romagna, the northern Italian region that brings you lasagna bolognese, mortadella, prosciutto and Parmigiano-Reggiano, among other delights.
Cotechino is more of an acquired taste than those other mentions; it’s made with pork meat, pork rind and spices such as nutmeg and clove, and then simmered on low heat for several hours, resulting in a moist and tender meat with a gelatinous texture and a flavor all its own, like a cross between country pâté and Spam. The sausage is sliced into disks and served on top of or alongside the lentils, and served in homes all over Italy at the stroke of midnight.
All of it is a ritual in calling in abundance. The lentils are said to resemble ancient Roman coins. And since they expand and swell up as they cook, so will your bank account. Pork is also a symbol of prosperity, because without prosperity, you would not be able to afford the pork. Eating this dish, according to lore, paves the way for all your fantasies of a year dripping in wealth.
Symbolism aside, I happen to love lentils. So, many years ago, I adopted the Italian tradition. I serve them to my guests on Jan. 1 instead of at the stroke of midnight, when most of the people I know are either in bed, or looking for more exciting things to happen to them than a bowl of porky lentils.
For my New Year’s lentils, I serve cooked, crumbled Italian sausage on top instead of cotechino. (Though you can find shelf-stable cotechino at stores that sell imported Italian foods.) I make an enormous batch and provide deli containers for guests to take more home with them. My lentils start out pretty basic: mirepoix (onion, celery, carrot and garlic), kicked up with fresh herbs, Italian tomato paste, an arbol chile (for subtle heat) and homemade chicken stock (instead of water) for simmering. The real trick is that I make them a day or two in advance, which is key to their richness.
Over the years, many friends have even come to expect my New Year’s lentils. There were times that I had decided to skip the lentils party, or just plain forgot about it, until a friend or two asked after them. “Hey, I didn’t get my invitation for prosperity lentils this year! I could really use them!” Of course, I scrambled and made the lentils. Nothing could make me feel richer.
Eating out this week? Sign up for Tasting Notes to get our restaurant experts’ insights and off-the-cuff takes on where they’re dining right now.
Health Is Wealth Lentil Soup
This classic lentil soup by yours truly is delicious year-round. I spoon a pesto-like fresh herb “pistou” on top. Add cotechino for the festivities, or crumbled Italian sausage. The herby sauce will be a delicious way to cut through those fatty meats.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.
(Rebecca Peloquin / For The Times)
Cotechino With Lentils
This is a straightforward, easy lentils recipe to serve as a base for the cotechino. The lentils are not soupy, and the sliced cotechino is served on top. Go ahead: Be Italian!
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 50 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.
Vegan Lentil And Fennel Salad
The key when making lentil salad is to use varieties that don’t turn to mush when cooked. This recipe suggests green (French) or black (beluga) lentils. Umbrian brown lentils also work for this purpose, and since they’re Italian, they’re also in keeping with the tradition of lentils in the New Year. I suggest substituting finely chopped parsley for the dill in this recipe.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 1 hour. Serves 4 to 6.
Jonathan Gold’s Hoppin’ John
If lentils aren’t your thing, consider making Jonathan Gold’s Hoppin’ John instead. Or do both! In the South, black eyed peas, the main ingredient‚ along with white rice — in Hoppin’ John, is the American South’s version of lentils: Again, the legumes are said to resemble coins and thus, as logic could have it, to bring wealth and prosperity to the eater.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 2 hours 20 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.
Sauteed Collard Greens
And while you’re at it, you may as well leave no prosperity superstition untouched. The South also embraces collard greens, resembling (as they do) bills of good old American cash money. These greens, cooked enough to be tender but not so much as to be Southern, would make a delicious, healthy addition to a lentils or Hoppin’ John feast.
Get the recipe.
Cook time: 20 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.
Dining and Cooking