Lentil Velouté in Crust

To prepare the lentil velouté in crust, soak the lentils with half a teaspoon of baking soda the night before or 2-3 hours before use, making sure to change the water at least once. Then rinse and drain them. Clean and finely chop the onion, carrot, and celery, and let them wilt over low heat for at least 10 minutes in oil and butter. Add the lentils 1, stir, add the bay leaf 2, fresh thyme leaves, and cover everything with vegetable broth 3.

Boil the lentils until they become tender, adding broth when needed 4, then salt and pepper to taste. Once the lentils are cooked, remove the bay leaf 5. While the lentils are cooking, take the pre-cooked cotechino, crumble it in a pan and make it crispy over low heat, stirring occasionally 6.

Once cooked, blend the lentils in a mixer until you obtain a smooth cream 7. If it seems too thick, add some vegetable broth. Pour it into 4 small cocottes 8 and add the crumbled cotechino to each one 9.

Cut circles of puff pastry with a cutter that is 0.5 inches wider in diameter than the cocottes 10. Moisten the edge of the cocottes with water and cover them with the puff pastry circle 12,

sealing the edges well 13. Brush the puff pastry with beaten egg (14-15) and bake at 390°F for about 15 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and golden! The lentil velouté in crust is ready, serve it hot! For this preparation, you can use both lentils and cotechino left over from your New Year's Eve dinner. Instead of puff pastry, you can use shortcrust pastry.