Lentils are a traditional Italian New Year food symbolizing money and prosperity.
They are commonly served around New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day, often with cotechino, a seasoned pork sausage. Their small, round, coin-like shape makes them a natural symbol of wealth, and eating them is associated with hopes for financial good fortune in the coming year.
Cotechino con lenticchie is especially associated with the Italian festive season. Cotechino is a cooked sausage traditionally made from pork, while the lentils provide the prosperity symbolism. Recipes and regional customs vary across Italy.
The dish is not the same as a universal Italian menu item or a required national ceremony. Some families serve lentils at midnight, while others eat them on New Year’s Day. Their symbolic meaning also differs from Spain’s grapes, which represent the twelve months and are eaten in time with midnight chimes.