This recipe is a classic for the New Year in Rome.
Tradition tells us that eating lentils on the first day of the year brings good luck and lots of money. It has never happened to me, but I always try to eat a little “for superstition” and especially because I like it so much.

Lentils with sausages

  • Preparation time: 180 minutes
  • Ingredients for 6 servings
  • Difficulty: Easy recipe

  • Ingredients
  • 6 sausages
  • 700 gr or 1 lb 8 oz of lentils
  • 75 gr or 3 oz of guanciale (pork cheek)
  • 2 celery stalks
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 white onion
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 glass of tomato sauce
  • Extra virgin olive oil to taste
  • Salt to taste
  1. Instructions
  2. Soak the lentils in cold water for half an hour.
  3. Place them in a pot, in plenty of cold water, with half an onion and a celery stalk. Bring to a boil and let simmer for an hour.
  4. Make a mince with a celery, half carrot, and half onion.
  5. In a pan, cook the diced guanciale (pork cheek) and sauté the sausages. Remove them. With the garlic clove, gently fry the chopped onion, carrot, and celery stew braising very low for about ten minutes. Return the diced guanciale and sausage to the pan, then add the tomato sauce, the drained lentils, and a ladle of lentil cooking water. Continue to cook for about thirty minutes on low heat, adding more water to cook the lentils if necessary. Shortly before the end of cooking time, take a ladle of lentils and chop them to the mixer with some cooking water, adding them to the rest of the preparation. Adjust salt.
  6. Arrange the lentils on a serving dish with sausages on top. Serve with pepper flavored oil, if you like.

Tips to ensure the success of the dish:

  • It is not necessary to soak lentils, but I do anyway. I leave them in cold water for at least thirty minutes.
  • Never throw lentil cooking water out. It is important to not only add it to the preparation but also to avoid however that present on the bottom of the pot because it is too muddy.
  • If you want a slightly lighter dish, you can degreasethe sausages in a saucepan of boiling water for a few minutes.