{"id":15264,"date":"2026-01-27T16:37:40","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T16:37:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/the-legend-of-lentils\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T08:47:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T08:47:06","slug":"tradition-lentils-christmas-new-year-recipes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/en\/tradition-lentils-christmas-new-year-recipes\/","title":{"rendered":"The legend of LENTILS"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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During\u00a0Christmas\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0New<\/strong>\u00a0Year\u2019s Eve, lentils\u00a0<\/strong>are said to bring good luck and, therefore, are\u00a0the most traditional side dish in Italy<\/strong>. Loved throughout the country, Lentils unite Italians during the festive season, even if recipes differ from region to region.<\/p>\n

Traditionally, they should be eaten on New Year\u2019s Eve\u00a0after the midnight toast<\/strong>: the very superstitious believe that, for the magic to work, they must be eaten with your hands!<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Lentils: history and tradition<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Lentils\u00a0<\/strong>were one of the first\u00a0pulses<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to be consumed as food, dating back to prehistoric times. As with other pulses, they are considered the \u201cpoor man\u2019s meat<\/strong>\u201d due to their high protein content. They are even mentioned in the Bible \u2015 in Genesis it is said that Esau gave up his first-born daughter in exchange for a plate of lentils \u2015 and in the\u00a0Middle Ages<\/strong>, they were considered a complete meal.<\/p>\n

BUT WHY ARE LENTILS SAID TO BRING GOOD LUCK?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The romans ate lentils on\u00a0New Year\u2019s Eve<\/strong>\u00a0as a good omen for the future. A\u00a0coin pouch<\/strong>, a leather bag worn around the belt, filled with lentils was typically gifted in order to bring good luck in the new year, the hope was that they would turn into jangling coins. A symbolic value attributable not only to the fact that their\u00a0lens shape<\/strong>\u00a0(from which their name derives) resembles a coin, but also to their nutritional value. Rich in\u00a0proteins, iron, mineral salts and B vitamins<\/strong>, lentils were considered a real treasure: thanks to the coin purse, even the less fortunate received\u00a0some very precious food<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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How to cook lentils: the best recipes<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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As an alternative to the more traditional dishes, here are some\u00a0sure-fire recipes<\/strong>\u00a0for\u00a0New Year\u2019s Eve lentils<\/strong>, combining taste, health and creativity.<\/p>\n

LENTIL MEAT(LESS)BALLS1<\/sup><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Not just a New Year\u2019s Eve side dish! Try this recipe for turning lentils into a\u00a0tasty second course\u00a0<\/strong>that everyone will love.<\/p>\n

INGREDIENTS (FOR 4 PEOPLE)<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the meat(less)balls
\n<\/strong>500 g of\u00a0ready cooked lentils<\/strong>\u00a0from the\u00a0Pedon\u00a0<\/strong>I Pronti range<\/strong><\/a>;
1 small potato;
50 g stale bread crumb;
2 tablespoons grated dry bread;
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese;
1 egg;
parsley;
salt and pepper.<\/p>\n

For the breading
\n<\/strong>2 eggs;
grated dry bread.<\/p>\n

For cooking
\n<\/strong>Extra virgin olive oil or high oleic sunflower oil<\/p>\n

PREPARATION<\/strong><\/p>\n

Boil the potato, crush it with a fork and add it to the ready-made lentils. After combining the bread crumb, the egg and all the other ingredients, knead well making sure the mixture is not too damp and then form into balls.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0lentil meat(less)balls<\/strong>\u00a0can be oven\u00a0baked\u00a0<\/strong>or, for a more festive and indulgent meal,\u00a0fried<\/strong>.\u00a0 If you prefer to bake them in the oven, just lightly grease a sheet of baking paper with olive oil and cook them at 180 degrees for 25 minutes. If you choose to fry them, place them in the fridge for about half an hour so that they harden a little, then take them out, bread them and fry them in a generous amount of sunflower oil or extra virgin olive oil.<\/p>\n

No matter how you cook them\u2026 they will be delicious!<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Would you like to bring a different\u00a0lentil dish<\/strong>\u00a0to the table that is both\u00a0healthy and super tasty?<\/strong>\u00a0Warm up the atmosphere with our\u00a0lentil, potato and mushroom pie<\/strong><\/a>, or surprise your guests with some delicious\u00a0lentils and ancient grains with salmon and avocado<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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If all we can do is hope for wealth and good fortune on New Year\u2019s Eve while eating lentils\u2026 we can be certain that our\u00a0Pedina<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0lentils will bring luck to those who need it the most. These special, top-grade lentils are filled with nutritional properties superior to the common lentil. Not only do they hold up exceptionally well during cooking, but the sale of\u00a0our Pedina lentils<\/strong>\u00a0also supports\u00a0Banco Alimentare<\/strong><\/a>, a food bank that has been helping families in need by collecting food surpluses for more than 30 years. This product works toward our\u00a0social responsibility<\/strong>\u00a0goals that are not only good for others but also for the environment: the packaging is obtained from waste from the pulse production process and is 100% recyclable.<\/p>\n

Do you want another reason to eat lentils? All this is offered to you on a silver platter by Pedon: among the absolute protagonists in the pulse segment, our\u00a0Lentils\u00a0<\/strong>from the\u00a0I Pronti<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0range are ready to be served at your table\u00a0without the need\u00a0<\/strong>for cooking, saving you time and effort. They are\u00a0steamed\u00a0<\/strong>in a natural way and contain no preservatives, seasoned with just a drizzle of olive oil, thus maintaining all their\u00a0nutritional properties<\/strong>. A tasty option eaten either on their own or as a practical addition to more elaborate recipes, perfectly suited to the practical needs of our fast-paced lives.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Bibliography<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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  1. \u201cLenticchie a Capodanno: ricette\u201d, Curenaturali.it \u2013\u00a0 Margherita Russo redattrice specializzata nella gestione di contenuti per la medicina \u2013\u00a0Source<\/em>\u00a0cure-naturali.it<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    A practical, nutritious, quality dish: they are good for health, the environment and needy people.<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Come find out more! <\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    During\u00a0Christmas\u00a0and\u00a0New\u00a0Year\u2019s Eve, lentils\u00a0are said to bring good luck and, therefore, are\u00a0the most traditional side dish in Italy. Loved throughout the country, Lentils unite Italians during the festive season, even if recipes differ from region to region. Traditionally, they should be eaten on New Year\u2019s Eve\u00a0after the midnight toast: the very superstitious believe that, for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[109],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-we-win-you-over-every-day"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15264"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15264\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15266,"href":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15264\/revisions\/15266"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pedon.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}