Lenticchie contadine | peasant lentils
Lucky lentils bring good fortune. For this reason a plate of lentils will be on the table in practically every household in Puglia, and indeed all over Italy, to bring wealth and good fortune as we welcome in the New Year.
The tradition goes back to ancient Rome when people exchanged gifts of small pouches filled with lentils, believed to bring prosperity.
For our vigilia di Capodanno New Year’s Eve meal they’re usually served up with cotechino, a fatty and aromatic sausage that is laced with pork skin and spices. However, the cotechino is not always to everyone’s taste, especially when the cotechino sausage filling is stuffed a gelatinous pigs trotter! A more modern take is to serve the lentils with pork sausages (pork is also a symbol of abundance) instead.
Lentils – not just for New Year
However, there’s no need to wait until Capodanno to enjoy lentils in the Puglia Kitchen. As the evenings draw in, we turn to warming, comforting ingredients. Lentils are grown all over Puglia, but those from the Murgia are best known. We buy ours from a local masseria.
This recipe is simply for the lentil base. So moreish on its own, but you can add sausages for a Sunday lunch. For fuller flavour, brown them first and then let them cook with the lentils. Alternatively you can cook them separately and then serve them on top of the lentils.
We cook the lentils in a pressure cooker (in around 20 – 25 minutes, no need to pre-soak). If you are not using a pressure cooker, the lentils do not need to be pre-soaked, and can be cooked from dried in about 35 – 40 minutes. However if you prefer to soak them first use 600ml of water or stock to the 200g of dried lentils, and leave them to soak from between 6 to 24 hours.
Our peasant lentils make a delicious filling for our Puglia Kitchen stuffed aubergine.
Serves 4
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, peeled and sliced
salt and black pepper, QB (to season)
2 large carrots, peeled, sliced and diced
3 sticks celery, trimmed, washed and finely chopped (keep the leaves, finely chopped, for a garnish)
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 heaped tbsp tomato paste
200g green lentils, dried (or 400g tinned green lentils, plus reserved liquor)
3 bay leaves and 1 sprig rosemary
200ml passata (or 400g tinned San Marzano tomatoes)
200ml vegetable stock
We make this in our pressure cooker. Start by making a soffritto with the diced celery, carrots and onion. Sweat them over a medium heat in 3 tbsp of olive oil with a pinch of salt and grind of pepper. Once softened, stir in the garlic and tomato paste, followed by the bay leaves.
Add the lentils and stir to mix with the soffritto and coat the lentils in olive oil. Add the passata (or tinned tomatoes if using, but roughly chop them first), vegetable stock and sprig of rosemary.
Make sure the liquid more than covers the lentils (about 1cm of liquid) , topping up with boiling water from the kettle if necessary. When it comes to boil, put on the pressure cooker lid and cook on a low heat for around 20 – 25 minutes once the cooker has reached full pressure. Turn off and leave to sit for between 30 – 50 minutes before opening the pan.
The lentils should be soft, almost fluffy. Check the seasoning, serve on warm plates and drizzle with the rest of the olive oil. In the Puglia Kitchen little goes to waste. We garnish ours with the leftover celery leaf, finely chopped. You can use chopped parsley instead.
Looking for more Puglia Kitchen recipes?
Keep your finger on the pulse(s) with another comforting seasonal dish from Salento, the southern part of Puglia. Ciceri e Tria, fried pasta with chickpeas.
