Cotechino is a large fresh Italian cooking sausage from Emilia-Romagna and the wider Po valley, built from coarsely ground pork with a generous share of fatty pork rind (cotica, which gives it its name) that melts during long, gentle boiling into a soft, gelatinous, almost creamy texture. Spiced with pepper, nutmeg, clove and sometimes cinnamon, it is simmered for hours and served sliced in its rich fat over a mound of stewed lentils — the near-obligatory Italian dish of New Year's Eve.