Serve New Year Lentils to Wish for Prosperity / 🇮🇹 Italy

At the Italian New Year table, a mound of lentils makes prosperity visible in a simple way. Each little disc suggests a coin, and there are many of them in a spoonful. The custom is an invitation to think about the kind of plenty you would like to share. Some Italian tables serve the lentils alongside cotechino, a cooked pork sausage, or zampone. Others bring them out at the turn of the year. A small bowl is enough to make the gesture part of a meal you already plan to share.

1. Choose dried lentils that will hold their shape, and follow the pack for cooking time and whether they need soaking. Put a spoon aside for serving them.
2. Cook them until tender, keeping the grains distinct enough to see their round shape. Season them in the way you would serve a warm side dish.
3. If you want the classic pairing, prepare cotechino according to its pack and serve slices alongside the lentils. You can also share the lentils as their own dish.
4. Give everyone who wants to join a spoonful. Before eating, think of something you hope to have enough of in the coming year, or share a wish for the whole table.

Choose the moment that fits the meal. The lentils can accompany the main dish or come out in a separate bowl near the end of the evening.

The New Year wish begins with a shape everyone at the table recognises: a round lentil looks like a tiny coin. The familiar pairing with cotechino and zampone gives the custom a distinct place at the Italian festive table. Cotechino has roots in northern Italy, and the combination appears today in New Year meals beyond its place of origin. The lentils can make their entrance with the main course, or they can wait in a little bowl until the year is about to turn. The shared idea is easy to see at either hour: a handful of small grains makes a full serving, and a full bowl gives everyone at the table something to wish over.