Salsiccia e Lenticchie della Fortuna
(sal-SEE-chah eh len-TEE-kee-eh del-lah for-TOO-nah)
Le Feste: Sicilian-American Holiday Spreads
At New Year's Eve midnight, the pork fat hisses in a heavy Dutch oven, rendering down before the supermarket brown lentils even see the heat to play their role as tiny, prosperous coins. While northern Italians serve theirs with a hulking stuffed pig's trotter, Sicilian immigrants in America adapted the tradition using the glorious, sweet fennel sausage they could actually find at the local market, cementing a brilliant peasant dish disguised as holiday legend. Wipe the bowl clean with a heel of bread, and take the luck.
Ingredients
- sweet Italian pork sausage1 lb
- extra virgin olive oil2 tbsp
- yellow onion1 med
- carrot1 large
- celery stalk1 large
- garlic clove1 large
- small brown or green lentils1 1/2 cup
- dry white wine1/4 cup
- crushed tomatoes2 tbsp
- low-sodium vegetable broth5 cup
- bay leaves2
- kosher saltto taste
- black pepperto taste
Method
- 01
Brown the sausages in olive oil to render their fat.
Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Prick the sausages a few times with a fork so they do not burst, brown them beautifully on all sides for about 5 to 7 minutes, and remove them to a plate, leaving the glorious pork fat in the pot.
- 02
Build a patient, unhurried soffritto.
Lower the heat to medium-low, add the diced onion, carrot, celery, and crushed garlic to the drippings, and cook slowly for 7 to 8 minutes until the onions are sweet and translucent.
- 03
Toast the lentils and deglaze with white wine.
Stir in the rinsed lentils for about a minute to coat them in the flavored fat, then pour in the white wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom until the smell of alcohol disappears.
- 04
Add the aromatics and begin the simmer with hot broth.
Stir in the crushed tomatoes and bay leaves, then pour in enough hot broth to cover the lentils by about an inch—keeping the remaining broth warm on the stove.
- 05
Marry the sausages and lentils in a gentle stew.
Nestle the browned sausages and their resting juices back into the pot, partially cover, and simmer gently for 35 to 45 minutes, adding more hot broth if the lentils begin to look too dry.
- 06
Wait until the lentils are completely tender before seasoning.
Remove the pot from the heat, discard the garlic and bay leaves, and only now season generously with salt and pepper to taste.
- 07
Let the stew rest before serving.
Allow the pot to sit for 10 minutes so the lentils absorb the final bit of liquid and thicken into a rich stew, then serve in shallow bowls finished with a drizzle of raw extra virgin olive oil.
Notes
Never salt the lentils early.
Salt reacts with the lentil skins and turns them into pebbles. Wait until they are perfectly tender at the very end of cooking before you season them.
Keep the broth hot.
Adding cold liquid to a simmering pot shocks the lentils and flattens the flavor profile. Keep your broth warming in a separate saucepan throughout the cooking process.