Thinking about the future prosperity of my family and friends, I recently carried two packets of lentils from Rome to Dorset. A wholly unnecessary exercise considering how widely available they are in the UK, but I did it to make myself feel important, I suppose. And so that, on New Year’s Eve, around the stroke of midnight, I can call everyone into the kitchen to eat a spoonful or seven, to ensure thriving good fortune and happiness in 2024. At least that is the idea.
Along with barley, pea, chickpea, bitter vetch, emmer wheat, einkorn wheat and flax, lentils are one of the eight neolithic founder crops domesticated as early as 12,000 years ago in the fertile crescent – what is now southern Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Egypt, and parts of Turkey and Iran. Cultivation seems to have been particularly significant in ancient Egypt, where red lentils have been found in burial tombs. Seeds travel, of course, thanks to birds and people, and lentils made their way all over the place. Including Greece and Italy, where they became a staple in the local diets, both as a whole pulse and ground into a flour suitable for making hearth bread. This double function and their nutritious, “useful” nature made lentils, known as lentĭcŭla, a precious food. And of course they look precious, the magic of their round form resembling a coin.
Lentils as an augury can be traced back to many cultures, including ancient Rome, where the gift of a leather purse full of raw lentils was a way to wish wealth on someone – the hope being that the lentils would be transformed into pecunia, or money. Over the centuries, a purse became a pot, its steaming contents an omen of a safe and secure tomorrow. At some point, in the north of Italy, lentils also collided with insaccati – sausages – themselves representing abundant richness. Namely cotechino – a northern Italian boiling sausage made of pork, lard, pork rind and spices – and zampone, a pig’s trotter stuffed similarly. Both cotechino and zampone are almost jelly-like in their pink fattiness, and wonderfully tasty. Simple sausages are equally delicious here, as are vegetarian sausages for those who love them. The most important part though is the lentils – ideally a small brown variety that cooks to tenderness but keeps its form. As always, the best variety is the one available to you that you know and feel comfortable cooking.
If this is a meal rather than a midnight snack, mashed potato makes a wonderful companion to lentils and sausages, or alternatively rice, which is another augury of plenty. Follow with 12 grapes (one for every month of the year) and dried fruit, nuts and fresh pomegranate eaten with a toothpick – and BB King bringing in a brand-new year.
Good luck lentils with sausages
Prep 10 min
Cook 45 min
Serves 6
300g small brown lentils
6 tbsp olive oil
1 medium-sized onion, peeled and finely diced
1 celery stick, finely diced
8 sage leaves
Salt and black pepper
6 large or 12 small sausages (pork or vegetarian)
300ml white wine
If you have time, soak the lentils in water for a few hours – don’t worry if you don’t have time: the lentils will just take a little longer to cook, and remember that cooking times vary massively due to lentil variety and age, so keep tasting.
In a large heavy-based saucepan or terracotta pot set over a medium-low heat, warm the olive oil, onion, celery and sage until the onion is soft. Add the lentils and a pinch of salt, and cover with water so it rises 2cm above the lentils.
Simmer until the lentils are just tender and the water mostly absorbed – a little broth is nice, so if at any point during cooking they seem a little dry, add more water.
While the lentils cook, either grill or pan-fry the sausages, browning them on all sides, and add the wine, simmering until they are cooked through – about 30 minutes – with just a little gravy.
Either put the lentils and sausages on a large serving plate or serve directly from pans.
