As the last post of the year, I had to share with you a cotechino recipe. That’s because Italians always have at least one slice of cotechino on New Year’s Eve! It’s a tradition that I love to keep alive even down under. I often make my own cotechino (you can find my tutorial and recipe here) as it is much easier than you think, but you can also use store bought ones. For the few of you who still don’t know what cotechino is… well, it’s a big sausage made with pork meat and rind and that has to be cooked slowly over a few hours to obtain the most amazing, soft, melt-in-the-mouth dish. Besides eating it with lentils (or en croûte, as per my recipe on Manu’s Christmas Menus), we also like to serve it with Italian style mash potatoes. They are very easy to make, they are quite low in calories and they are smooth, silky and fluffy! I love purè (as we call it) and this is my mum’s recipe (she makes the best mash ever!). Before I leave you to the recipe, I’d like to wish you all a fantastic New Year 2014! Have fun and stay safe! See you’ll in the new year! 🙂
- 1 Cotechino, store bought or home-made
- 500 gms – 1.1 lbs. Potatoes
- 20 gms – 1 heaped tbps butter
- 3 tbsp milk
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- Salt to taste
- Take a skewer and make some holes all around the cotechino. This will prevent the skin from breaking while cooking.
- Put it in a big enough pot and cover it with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce the flame to low and simmer for 2.5 to 3 hours.
- When ready, let it cool down completely and then cut it in 2 cm – ¾ inch slices.
- Boil and mash the potatoes with a potato ricer.
- Put the mashed potatoes in a pot on a slow fire. Add the milk, butter, nutmeg and salt and mix well until the butter has melted. Remove from the fire.
- Blend for 1 minute with a hand mixer until light and fluffy.
- Serve warm with the sliced cotechino.
Hi Manu!
I got a tad bit excited when i saw your cotechino post on facebook! Our family would seasonally cook a cotechino served with polenta during the winter. I never knew it was new yrs feast!
Once aain, i would like to know where you can buy a fresh local cotechino from, our deli usually orders them in frm victoria.
Do you change the water during cooking?
Hi!! I get mine from AC Butchery in Haberfield or make my own. I don’t usually change the water, though I sometimes add more boiling water if needed. 🙂 Happy New Year to you and your family!
Happy new year to you and your family aswell! Salute xx
I think I may actually like cotechino with mashed potatoes more than with lentils, to be honest! In fact, I like anything with mashed potatoes… ;=) This year, however, there was no cotechino on our table, for the first time in a long time. I made a quick attempt but they were sold out.