Modified Version of a Traditional Italian New Year's Eve Sausage & Lentil Entrée

As many of my posts reflect, I love authentic Italian food. At the last minute, I decided to try to find a traditional New Year's Eve entrée. I chose Cotechino con Lenticchie - Cotechino Sausage with Lentils. This is a main dish that is served at the big, traditional New Year's Eve dinner - the Cenone di Capodanno. The lentils represent coins - money that will come to the diners in the coming year.

The only problem was that I could not get to an Italian market to buy Cotechino, a salami-like sausage, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotechino), so I substituted mild Italian sausage from Publix. The results were nice, but not authentic. We also fresh had grapes, another Italian New Year's food. Next New Year's Eve, I intend to try the real thing.

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cotechino-con-lenticchie/

This meal serves six, is very easy to make, and takes a little over an hour to prepare.

Ingredients
a. For the pot with the sausage
- 1 pound cotechino
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 8 whole black peppercorns
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 7 cups water
b. For the pot with lentils
- 1 pound dry green lentils
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1 clove garlic (I used two)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 large carrot, quartered
- salt and pepper to taste
c. For use on the plated food
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped

Directions
1. Pierce the cotechino with a fork in several places. In a large pot, place the cotechino, chopped onion, 1 bay leaf, peppercorns, and thyme. Cover with the 7 cups of water and bring all to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 45 to 50 minutes - if using fresh cotechino. For precooked cotechino, simmer for 20 minutes.

2. In another large pot, combine the lentils, quartered onion, garlic, bay leaf, carrot, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover with the 4 cups of water. Bring all to a boil; cover; reduce heat to low, and let simmer for 40 to 45 minutes, or until lentils are soft. Add additional water if necessary.

3. Remove and discard the onion, garlic, bay leaf, and carrot. Spoon the lentils into a serving dish, drizzle with olive oil, and slice rounds of the cotechino over the top. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley, and serve.