Ring In the New Year Italian-Style!

Contributor Jim Dixon of Real Good Food is one lucky guy…it just might have something to do with the way he rings in the New Year. Here he discusses a traditional Italian dish he makes on January 1.

Many cultures eat special New Year’s foods, usually things that symbolize good luck or prosperity. Greens are the color of money, long noodles mean long life, pigs root forward and herald progress, and round foods look like coins. That last one’s why Italians eat lentils (lenticchie) at the beginning of a new year, and if coin-shaped slices of pork sausage are included, that’s even better.

Italian lentils don’t break down during cooking, and that’s what I prefer. According to wikipedia, the difference between cooked lentils that get mushy and those that stay intact is the husk. But that’s not the kind of information you’ll find on a label, so you need to shop for specific lentils by type. The brownish, speckled lentils from Umbria are hard to find, but the small, dark green lentils often marked as French or du Puy can be purchased as most good grocery stores. Here’s how I usually cook them.

Lenticchie al Mauro

Mauro (left) is a grizzled farmer we met in the Umbrian hill town of Castelluccio, home of Italy’s best lentils. He admonished us as we were about to sprinkle Parmigiano over a simple bowl of lenticchie: "Solo aglio, olio, sedano, sale, e aqua. Non formaggio." ("Only garlic, oil, celery, salt, and water. No cheese.")

Sauté a couple of minced garlic cloves and a diced stalk of celery plenty of extra virgin olive oil over medium-low heat for a couple of minutes, being careful not to let the garlic brown. Add the lentils, water to cover (2-3 cups), and a good pinch of sea salt. Bring to gentle boil, reduce heat, and simmer 15-20 minutes or until lentils are tender. Adjust salt and drizzle with more extra virgin olive oil.

For New Year’s, add some sausages for Lenticchie all’Uccelletto con Salsicche:

Fagioli all’Uccelletto, or beans with tomato sauce, is a common Tuscan dish. Literally "like little birds," the origin of the phrase all’Uccelletto is subject to some debate. Pelligrino Artusi, in his classic 1891 cookbook "La Scienza in Cucina e l’Arte di Mangiar Bene,"* says it refers to the use of sage, essential in cooking birds. Others claim it acknowledges beans as the traditional accompaniment to roasted songbirds. Lentils with tomato sauce and sausage are also served in Tuscany and Umbria, but not usually tagged all’Uccelletto. I just like how it sounds.

While the Lenticchie al Mauro are cooking, cook 4-5 sausages (for this I like Salumeria di Carlo’s cotechino-style, available in the freezer at New Seasons) in a little olive oil over medium low heat, turning often until browned on all sides. When the lentils are done, add about 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. Place the sausages on top of the lentils, cover and cook another 10 minutes over low heat. Drizzle with more extra virgin olive oil at the table.

* Here's a link to get the English version, "Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well."

Merry and Happy!

As we launch into the holidays, I want to wish everyone a very warm, merry and satisfying holiday. May your hearts be glad, your tables full of good things to eat and drink and the new year one that is bursting with joy.

Thank you for your kindness and support this past year, and I'm hoping we can share many new and exciting adventures in 2013!

Lucky Strike

See a penny
Pick it up
And all the day
You'll have good luck.

It's not that I'm terribly superstitious or anything. I admit to picking up pennies off the sidewalk when I come across them. If I see a pair of shoes with the left shoe on the right and the right shoe on the left, I feel compelled to put things right (though only with shoes I'm related to).

So the other day when I ran across some black-eyed peas in the bulk bins at the store, it seemed like a no-brainer to cook up a batch for the first day of 2012. That's because, in the seemingly infinite collection of useless knowledge I carry around in my head, I know that it's a traditional dish served on New Year's Day down South. And it's said to bring prosperity in the coming year, so why not? Plus it's super easy to cook up in a couple of hours, especially if you let the beans soak overnight the night before.

Called "Hoppin' John" when cooked with pork and served with rice, it's considered lucky because "the peas, since they swell when cooked, symbolize prosperity; the greens symbolize money; the pork, because pigs root forward when foraging, represents positive motion."* (Bonus useless knowledge, by the way…)

Works for me!

Good Luck Hoppin' John

2 lbs. dry black-eyed peas
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped fine
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 ribs celery, chopped fine
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 bay leaf
4 c. chicken stock
1 large smoked ham hock
3 c. chopped lacinato kale, sliced in chiffonade (chard, collards or other greens could also be used)
Salt and pepper to taste

Place dried beans in large pot. Add water to cover by 3-4". Cover with lid and let sit out overnight.

The next day, at least a couple of hours or more before serving, drain any liquid from the beans and rinse.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in large soup pot until it shimmers. Add onion and garlic and sauté till tender. Add celery and sauté till tender. Add oregano and bay leaf and heat briefly. Add chicken stock, drained beans and ham hock, adding water if necessary to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cook until beans are tender, at least 90 minutes to 2 hrs. (Again, don't let the beans get too dry; add water as necessary.) Add salt and pepper to taste. Before serving, remove ham hock and shred meat from bone, adding meat back to the beans. Add kale and simmer briefly till it wilts and turns a dark green. Serve with cooked white rice. You can also supplement with finely chopped green onions and hot pepper sauce.

* At least according to Wikipedia.