Cotechino in Puff Pastry with Lentils

FOR THE COTECHINO

• Cotechino: 700 g (about 24.7 oz)
• Spinach: 300 g (about 10.6 oz or roughly 10 cups loosely packed)
• Puff Pastry: 1 rectangular roll, 230 g (about 8.1 oz)

FOR THE LENTILS

• Dried Lentils: 300 g (about 10.6 oz or roughly 1? cups)
• Celery: 1 stalk
• Medium Carrot: 1
• Golden Onions: ½
• Bay Leaf: 1
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil: as needed
• Fine Salt: as needed
• Black Pepper: as needed
• Vegetable Broth: about 1.5 l (about 6¼ cups)

FOR BRUSHING

• Egg: 1
• Maldon Salt: as needed

To prepare Cotechino in Puff Pastry with Lentils, start by making vegetable broth. Take a non-precooked Cotechino, prick it with a toothpick, and wrap it in a parchment paper. Then use kitchen twine to tie it, as if it were a roast. If you've never done this, find out how to tie a roast here.

Immerse the Cotechino in a large pot, cover with cold water, and cook for 2 hours from when it starts boiling. In the meantime, prepare the lentils. In another pot, pour a little oil, add chopped onion and carrot.

Also add finely chopped celery and gently fry everything. Then add the lentils, salt, grated black pepper, and the bay leaves.

Cover with vegetable broth and cook everything for an hour and a half on low heat, adding more hot broth if necessary, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, prepare the spinach. Blanch them in salted hot water for a few minutes until wilted.

Drain the spinach and transfer them to ice water. Then squeeze them out very well and transfer them to a cutting board. Chop them very finely, until you get a creamy consistency.

As soon as the Cotechino is ready, drain it, remove the casing covering it, and let it cool. Roll out the puff pastry on a surface and spread the spinach cream over it, covering almost the entire surface. Place the Cotechino on one side of the pastry and start to roll it up; make sure the closure ends up on the bottom.

Press down the sides to seal it well. Transfer it to a baking tray with parchment paper, brush with egg, and sprinkle with Maldon salt.

Cook the Cotechino in a preheated convection oven at 180°C (about 355°F) for 30/35 minutes. Once well-browned, take it out of the oven and let it rest for a few minutes. Then slice it and serve with the lentils.