Lenticche Con Cotechino, Forza Gualdo Tadino!

• 17 ounces (450 grams) Umbrian lentils
• 1 celery rib, divided with one part chopped and set aside
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup basic tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon (small handful) hot pepper flakes, see note below.
• salt
• 1 pound or slightly larger cotechino, or equivalent in other fully cooked sausage

1. Bring sufficient salted water to boil. Enough to just cover the lentils. Add them along with the the intact part of the celery rib and one clove of garlic. Allow about 20 minutes cooking time over low heat.
2. Meanwhile saute the chopped celery and remaining garlic clove in the oil. Add the hot pepper (don't go nuts), and the tomato sauce and simmer.
3. Prick the sausage and add to the pan intact and color it a bit on all sides ("rosolare"). Add enough water to come up about a third of the way. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, turning and stirring occasionally.
4. When you are satisfied that the lentils and sausage(s) are cooked through, remove the sausage and set aside for slicing. Combine the sauce with the lentils. Serve with slices of cotechino on each plate.
5. Note to cook: as I said I was a little surprised to discover how common the use of hot pepper is in Umbria. I use a Roman style blend that includes not only hot pepper flakes (with seeds) but also dried garlic and parsley. You can find a similar product packaged in Umbrian markets.
6. Second note to cook: in Italy for "tomato sauce" they would typically use passato which is a bit thinner than our canned sauces.

umbrian lentils, celery, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, tomato sauce, handful, salt, cotechino

Taken from food52.com/recipes/2401-lenticche-con-cotechino-forza-gualdo-tadino (may not work)