Cotechino with lentils is the typical dish of the New Year's Eve party. This symbol of Italian gastronomy, synonymous with luck and money for the new year, is a specialty with an ancient history that has many regional variations and which we can always enjoy, not just on December 31st.
Europrodotti guides you to discover the traditions and recipes of this delicious pork sausage and its tasty legume side dish.
Cotechino: the ancient origins of this tasty sausage
The name cotechino derives from cùdghèin, which in the dialect of the Italian city of Modena means small rind or small skin, in reference to the pork rind which represents one of the main ingredients of this cured meat. Like many other sausages, cotechino was born as a solution for preserving meat in an era when refrigeration did not exist. The less valuable parts of the pig, such as the rind and the bacon, were minced, mixed with salt, pepper, aromatic herbs and spices both to flavor them and to aid their preservation, inserted into a casing and finally dried in a wood stove or on a brazier. From the ingredients used we can understand that it was a poor dish, typical of the peasant tradition, but time has ennobled this specialty by bringing it to the tables of starred restaurants.
The place of birth of cotechino is not certain although many recognize the municipality of Mirandola, in the Modena area, as its homeland. It is said that in 1511 the people of Mirandola decided to preserve the meat of the few pigs they had in the skin of their front legs to resist the siege of the troops of Pope Julius II della Rovere. This expedient worked so well that the recipe quickly spread throughout central and northern Italy.
Unfortunately, the living conditions of the majority of Italian population, at least until after the Second World War, made the consumption of meat a luxury reserved for special occasions. A rule that did not escape even modest foods such as cotechino and zampone. Eating them during the holidays was an opportunity to break a diet based on soups and polenta as well as a sign of good omen. In fact the pig was considered an animal that brought abundance, because it was capable of growing and gaining weight by digging up the ground and feeding on what it found, a bit like the farmers themselves were forced to do. The link between cotechino and lentils, already considered a lucky charm by the ancient Romans, arose easily for practical reasons. These small legumes were in fact cheap and once dried they could be preserved easily and for a long time.
For many families eating cotechino and lentils at the beginning of the new year meant the hope of a better future that would bring wealth and happiness, a hope that has never been lost and which today retains the same value as in the past.
The variations of cotechino
Whatever country you go to, whatever cotechino you find. In the Renaissance the recipe for this spicy pork spread rapidly from Modena to the rest of Italy, particularly in the north and center of the peninsula. The production methods and ingredients changed but the result always remained an appetizing pork sausage. Let's discover some of the varieties that we can find in some of our regions:
- cotechino Modena IGP: it is the only version to benefit from the Indicazione Geografica Protetta (Protected Geographical Indication), received in 2009. The specification provides for the use of a mixture of pork meat obtained from striated muscles, fat and rind, with the addition of salt, pepper, natural flavorings, spices, aromatic herbs, spices and possibly wine. The meat is minced in a meat grinder with molds with holes of 7-10 mm for the muscle and fat fractions and 3-5 mm for the rind. The mixture is then stuffed into a natural or artificial casing. Modenese cotechino can be marketed either fresh, after a drying process, or cooked, after heat treatment;
- cotechino di Norcia: the Norcia area in Umbria is famous for its cured meats, such as the cured bacon barbozza, the Corallina salami, the Mazzafegato sausage and the Norcia ham IGP. To these is added the cotechino di Norcia, flavored with black pepper, rosemary and other spices. The result is a cotechino with a strong flavor and a more complex harmony of aromas. Obviously the advice is to serve it with a side dish of the prized Castelluccio di Norcia IGP lentils;
- cotechino cremonese: it is produced with lean pork meat obtained by cleaning and trimming the bacon and head. The minced meat together with fat and rind is seasoned with salt, sugar, Barbera wine, pepper, spices and a basin of natural aromas infused in the red wine. After being stuffed into a bladder or casing it is dried in a wood stove or on a brazier;
- coessìn co lo sgrugno: it is a Venetian cotechino packaged with parts of the pig's snout dehydrated with salt and spices for half a day. Once the meat has lost most of its water, it is placed in a casing with lard, salt and other spices. The sausage is then left to dry in dark, well-ventilated rooms. Coessìn co lo sgrugno is traditionally served with a side dish of stewed beans;
- cotechino di San Leo: it is an artisanal preparation typical of this municipality in Romagna. The filling is based on pork cheek, rind, bacon and shoulder. It is seasoned with salt, black pepper, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon;
- cotechino piemontese: it is an ingredient of the bollito misto alla piemontese. The neck and head meat of the pig is coarsely minced and seasoned with fine salt, cloves, pepper and cinnamon. The stuffing takes place in beef casings previously immersed in water and white wine.
Cotechino: the basis of starred and summer dishes
If you think that cotechino is a modest dish, we could make you a long list of gourmet recipes successfully proposed by starred chefs. We are content to give you two examples:
- cotechino served on a bed of zabaglione with a side dish of Beluga lentils, crunchy semolina and sage proposed by Davide Oldani;
- cotechino with Lambrusco di Sorbara by Massimo Bottura. The characteristic of this recipe is that the sausage is cooked for an hour in water and wine. After this phase it is further cooked with the steam of the same wine
Those who consider cotechino with lentils a dish reserved for the Christmas holidays and cold winter days can learn to enjoy it even in summer. For example, we suggest a salad of sliced cotechino and lentils, served cold with the addition of grilled onions, peppers and courgettes. This simple, substantial and flavorful recipe is ideal if you want an appetizing dish to take to the seaside and eat under the beach umbrella.
Cotechino with lentils is an Italian gastronomic pride that combines simplicity and taste. A specialty with an ancient tradition but so versatile that it adapts to new and original culinary inventions. Europrodotti contributes to the preparation of cotechino with mixtures of spices and natural flavourings.