a recipe of simple and true tradition

The cooked lentils It is an original and simple dish to prepare garnish ideal for accompanying meat-based main dishes or to serve as first course.

They are prepared traditionally New Year’s Eve to accompany cotechino or he crotch: symbol of prosperity, served to wish good luck in the new year.

The recipe we offer is classic and will allow you to taste them in all their beauty: dried lentils, previously soaked in cold water for several hours, are combined with fried saute based on celery, carrots and onions and cooked. By combining vegetable broth with tomato puree.

If you don’t have time to make broth, you can cook lentils in water, maybe you can add a cube of vegetables to make the dish tastier.

Healthy and light food is possible though season the cooked lentils with a spicy touch: you can replace the roasted vegetables with 30 grams of ginger, turmeric and lemon juice before adding the lentils.

Another tip is to add 50 grams of chopped carrots, celery, and onion to the mince pig cut into sweet cubes, fry before adding lentils.

If you are looking for other ideas for cooking lentils, we offer our recipes for cooking lentils lentil soupideal for winter lentil ragoutrecommended for vegetarians and classics pasta and lentils.

How to make cooked lentils

Soak the dried lentils in cold water for several hours. 1 This step is important not only to remove impurities, but also to make the legumes more digestible and reduce cooking times. If you are using already cooked canned lentils, this step is not necessary.

Use a strainer to drain the lentils 2. A suggestion is to rinse them again under running water to remove any residue.

Prepare the base for the saute with celery, carrots and white onions. Cut the vegetables into small cubes of equal size: they will be used to give a homogeneous cooking to the saute. Pour oil into the pan, add celery, carrot, white onion and fry for a few minutes 2. Stir occasionally with a spoon so that the sauce does not stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.

Pour the previously soaked lentils and rinse them in the sauté pan 3. Turn the heat on high and fry for a few minutes. Stir using a spoon to add flavor to the lentils in the sauté.

Then pour tomato puree 5. After a few minutes, add the bay leaves and stock too: start with two ladlefuls and add as they become dry. Cook for about 40-50 minutes: lentils should be soft but not falling apart: add salt and pepper 5 minutes before cooking.

Pour the lentils into a bowl, add a little oil and serve hot or warm. 6. You can season them with rosemary, thyme or marjoram to give the food a more delicious taste.

Advice

Opt for nutrient-rich and preservative-free dry lentils for preparation. however, you will need to leave them to soak for at least 8 hours. To make cooking easier, add a teaspoon of baking soda to every liter of water you will use for soaking.

To speed up the preparation of cooked lentils, you can use canned lentils that do not need to be soaked.

How to store cooked lentils

Cooked lentils can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Before serving, heat them in a pot or in the microwave, add a little stock to give them flavor and make them softer.