Italian cooking sausage with lentils (Cotechino con lenticchie)

1. Prick the sausage skin in several places with a toothpick so it doesn't burst during cooking.

2. Put it in a tall pan, cover generously with cold water, bring to the boil, then lower the heat and cook at the barest simmer for 2.5-3 hours (for the pre-cooked, vacuum-packed kind, the 20-30 minutes on the packet is enough).

3. Meanwhile, pick over and rinse the lentils; finely chop the onion, carrot and celery.

4. In a saucepan, cook the vegetables in the olive oil for 6-8 minutes, stir in the tomato purée, add the lentils and bay leaf, pour in the stock and simmer covered over low heat for 30-40 minutes until the lentils are tender but not falling apart; season with salt and pepper at the end.

5. Lift the sausage out of its cooking water, let it cool for 2-3 minutes, peel off the skin and cut into 1.5 cm slices.

6. Spoon the lentils onto plates and lay the hot sausage slices on top.

Tip: In Italy this is the traditional New Year's Eve dish: the lentils represent coins, and it's said the more you eat, the richer the new year will be.