It's almost mid-November - time to bake Christmas cupcakes for gifts! Have you ever made a cake that needs to sit for a month or even two before eating? Then be sure to try it. Having prepared such a cupcake once, you will return to it every year and try more and more new combinations. Almost all Christian countries have their own similar and at the same time unique recipes for sweets for the festive Christmas table. In Russia, unfortunately, after the Soviet era, this tradition, like many that unite a family, was not preserved. So let's bake gingerbread cookies, cookies, and cupcakes, attracting and uniting all family members. How nice it is when, long before the New Year and Christmas, the house begins to smell like a holiday: the children are thinking about a letter to Santa Claus, you are starting to make lists of gifts, your husband is thinking about an interesting pastime during the holidays...
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In general, it would be more correct to call this holiday Holy Evening, since traditional dishes on the Christmas table are prepared specifically for the evening of January 6th. The most beautiful and mysterious traditions, rituals and signs are associated precisely with Holy Evening and Christmas night, that is, from January 6th to 7th. And there should be exactly 12 dishes on the table for Christmas - according to the number of God's Apostles.
The main tradition of this evening is waiting for something like a miracle, the first star in the night sky. Young children perceive this tradition especially joyfully, constantly running in a crowd together with other children to look at the evening sky, and what a delight when the first Christmas star appears in the amazing evening blue of January!.. In childhood, it always seems so big and radiant that what No matter how many scientific points of view about January stars and planets are presented by astronomers, everyone knows for sure: this is it, the star of Christmas.
For modern adults, these traditions at Christmas are also honorable, since only after the appearance of the first star does the holiday begin. When the Christmas star appears in the sky, the whole family can sit down at the table and start celebrating.
Cover the Christmas table with a light tablecloth, and, according to tradition, put some hay under it. A candle is placed in the center of the table in a container with wheat grains, lit, and everyone thanks the Lord together. If you are not particularly devout and do not know how to pray, this is not a problem: tell God in your own words that you are grateful to Him for what you have, for the fact that He protects you and loves you, and ask for health, prosperity and love for yourself and your loved ones next year. Don’t be embarrassed, believe me, after such a sincere and not memorized prayer, your soul will become warm and cozy, as they say in Ukraine, “quiet.” And now you can start Christmas dinner, which necessarily begins with Lenten kutya and uzvar - traditional dishes for Christmas.
12 DISHES FOR CHRISTMAS
As you already understand, you need to prepare exactly 12 dishes for the Christmas table. And these 12 dishes for Christmas should be lean, that is, not contain meat and animal fats, and indeed nothing from the animal world (no milk, no sour cream, no eggs, etc.). The only things you can cook for Christmas are fish, all kinds of grains, vegetables and fruits, of course. It will be possible to pamper yourself with balyk and sausages starting tomorrow, and you only need to prepare 12 dishes for Christmas that are meatless.
The main rule for the Christmas table is the “poverty” of dishes, that is, your Christmas menu should include only basic, simple lean food, without any frills. Don’t worry that this “vegetarian” menu won’t be tasty - the recipes for dishes on the Christmas table have been tested and perfected over centuries and generations, so you’ll have something to please yourself and your loved ones. Moreover, in the modern world, such a menu for Christmas is more “exotic” for us than a traditional diet.
Kutya
This is one of the main dishes at Christmas - the hostess of the Christmas dinner. Kutya is prepared for Christmas and Epiphany (in some regions of Ukraine and for New Year). A rich supper and the Christmas feast of the next day began with kutya. After the Holy Evening, the kutya was left on the table overnight - so that the souls of deceased ancestors would also taste the treat.
The basis of kutya is wheat, barley or rice. Traditional wheat kutia contains a complex of vitamins B and protein (during fasting, the body does not receive enough proteins of animal origin, so their deficiency should be compensated for with vegetable proteins). Season the cereals with grated poppy seeds, nuts, dried fruits, and honey. These products are rich in beta-carotene, vitamins (B, C, E, K, PP and others) and microelements (potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, manganese). 
Wheat kutia recipe
2 cups wheat
1 glass poppy seeds
100 g honey (or 1/2 cup sugar)
30 g shelled nuts
50 g raisins
salt - to taste
Method of preparing kutia from wheat:
Sort the wheat, rinse, add to boiling water, bring to a boil, place in a sieve, pour over cold water, put in a saucepan or clay pot, add water again and cook until the grains are ready.
Wash a glass of poppy seeds, pour boiling water over it, and then cold water, pound in a mortar until the mixture turns white, add honey, and maybe a little salt. Add chopped nuts, scalded with boiling water and strained raisins.
Uzvar
Uzvar was traditionally prepared for kutya at Christmas. If kutya is the hostess of the Christmas party, then uzvar is the host.
Actually, uzvar (or compote) used to be one of the most common traditional drinks. But if in summer it was prepared from fresh berries, then in autumn, winter and spring - from dried ones (cherries, apples, pears, apricots and others). Dried fruits and berries preserve vitamins, the lack of which we especially begin to feel in winter (it’s not for nothing that uzvar was a constant drink during Lent, when vitamins are especially scarce). The drink is rich in vitamins A, B, C, it contains calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium and other useful substances. In addition, uzvar regulates the functioning of the stomach and intestines, and also has a positive effect on the functioning of blood vessels. 
Uzvar recipe:
200 g dried pears, 200 g dried apples, 200 g prunes, 100 g raisins, 200 g honey, 3 liters of water.
How to cook uzvar:
Prepare dried fruits. To do this, wash the dried fruits with warm water and soak them in cold water for 10 minutes.
Pour 3 liters of water into a saucepan, add pears and apples and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Then add prunes and raisins to the uzvar and cook for another 10-15 minutes.
At the end, add honey, let it boil and remove the uzvar from the heat. Cover the uzvar with a lid and leave for 2-3 hours to infuse. Strain the uzvar and serve chilled.
Dumplings with potatoes, mushrooms, cabbage
Dumplings are perhaps the most delicious Lenten dish. They are a must have for the Christmas table.
We prepare the dough for dumplings from coarse wheat flour. It is rich in vitamins B and E and is better absorbed by the body than premium flour. In addition, wholemeal flour contains pectin and fiber. Figuratively speaking, such flour is a broom for the intestines.
The filling for dumplings is boiled potatoes in their jackets. It is in unpeeled potatoes that the nutrients are preserved under the skin, in particular, the layer of potassium, which we usually cut off when peeling raw potatoes. Add fried mushrooms and onions to the potatoes. You can use other fillings: stewed cabbage, berries. 
Dough for dumplings
For the dough you will need: 0.5 kg of flour, 250 ml of water, 2 tbsp. spoons of vegetable oil, salt to taste.
Method of preparation: sift the flour, add water, salt, vegetable oil and knead into a stiff dough. Cover it and leave it for about an hour, during which time you can prepare the filling. And then you can start cutting the dough and making dumplings.
This dough turns out elastic, it can be rolled out thinly, and it does not boil over in boiling water. These dumplings may have little dough and a lot of filling.
Dumplings with potatoes
For the filling you will need: 0.5 kg of potatoes, 1 medium carrot, 2 medium onions, vegetable oil, dill, ground black pepper, salt to taste.
Peel the potatoes and boil in salted water. Make a puree by adding frying, chopped dill, pepper and salt.
Lenten dumplings with cabbage
For the filling you will need: 0.6 kg of white cabbage, 1 medium carrot, 2 medium onions, vegetable oil, salt to taste, bay leaf.
Method of preparation: finely chop the onion, grate the carrots on a coarse grater, fry in vegetable oil and set aside a small part of the frying for later seasoning the finished dumplings.
Shred the cabbage. Add it to the frying pan and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Finally, add a bay leaf and salt.
Cool the filling and you can make dumplings. Cook for 5-7 minutes. Add the remaining frying to the prepared dumplings.
The vinaigrette
Traditionally, vinaigrette is prepared from boiled (potatoes, beets, carrots, beans), raw (onions and parsley) and pickled or salted (cucumbers) vegetables. This set contains all the minerals and vitamins a person needs: C, B, PP, E, K, beta-carotene, potassium, iron.
Cut the vegetables for the salad into cubes and season the vinaigrette as usual with vegetable oil. It helps to better absorb beta-carotene, which carrots are rich in and is the main source of vitamin E.
Vinaigrette recipe
Potatoes - 3-4 medium or large pieces,
carrots - 1 large or 2 medium pieces,
beets - 1 piece,
sauerkraut - 100-150 g,
salted or pickled cucumbers - 1-2 large pieces,
onion - 1 medium piece,
vegetable oil,
salt, freshly ground pepper
optional: green peas, boiled beans, canned mushrooms 
How to prepare vinaigrette:
Wash potatoes, beets, carrots well. Place the vegetables in a saucepan, add water, bring to a boil and cook until tender.
Tip: vegetables can be wrapped in foil and baked in the oven at 180°C until cooked. Each vegetable must be wrapped separately in foil. You can also boil vegetables in a double boiler.
Cool the beets, potatoes and carrots and peel them. Cut vegetables into small cubes.
Cut the cucumbers into cubes. Squeeze the sauerkraut from the brine.
Peel the onion and finely chop.
Place the beets in a bowl, add a little vegetable oil and stir - then the beets will not color the rest of the vegetables.
Add chopped potatoes, carrots, cucumbers, cabbage, onions to the beets, salt and pepper, season with oil and mix.
Tip: You can add green peas, boiled beans, and canned mushrooms to the vinaigrette.
Chill the vinaigrette in the refrigerator before serving.
Stuffed cabbage rolls
The traditional recipe for cabbage rolls contains meat. But during Lent, the filling can be replaced with stewed mushrooms, carrots and onions. Then cook as usual.
Homemade cabbage rolls recipe
White cabbage 500 gr.
Stewed mushrooms
Rice 1/3 tbsp.
Salt
Sugar
Ground black pepper
Tomato paste 3 tbsp. or tomatoes 5-6 pcs.
Carrot 1 pc.
Onions 2 pcs.
Peppercorns 5-7 pcs.
Bay leaf 2 pcs. 
How to cook cabbage rolls:
Wash the cabbage, remove the stalk and place in a pan with boiling water.
Cook the cabbage until the top leaves are well separated (about 10 minutes). Remove the separated leaves from the boiling water. If you make cabbage rolls from young cabbage, then you need to cook it for no more than 2-3 minutes.
Boil the rice until done.
Pass the stewed mushrooms and onions through a meat grinder. Add salt, pepper, rice to the resulting minced meat. Mix everything thoroughly. Add 3 tablespoons of water to the minced meat.
Cut off the thick vein from the cabbage leaf (from the stalk), lay out some minced meat, and wrap the cabbage leaf in an envelope.
Place the resulting cabbage rolls in a saucepan.
Prepare the sauce: fry finely chopped onion and grated carrots in vegetable oil, add tomato paste, salt, a little sugar, peppercorns, bay leaf, water. Bring the sauce to a boil.
Pour the resulting sauce over the cabbage rolls, cover the pan with a lid and simmer over low heat for about 40-50 minutes, depending on the size of the cabbage rolls and the quality of the cabbage.
Fish aspic
A beautiful holiday dish that can be served during Lent.
Ingredients:
Pike perch weighing 1 kg,
1 onion,
1 carrot,
1 white root (parsley, parsnip or celery)
1 bunch of greens,
lemon to taste
2 bay leaves,
5 black peppercorns,
2 peas of allspice,
30 g gelatin,
salt to taste,
1.5 liters of water. 
Fish aspic - preparation:
Clean the fish, gut it, remove the gills and rinse thoroughly.
Separate the head, tail, fins, bones, skin from the fish, place in a pan along with vegetables and spices.
Pour in cold water, bring to a boil, reduce heat, carefully skimming off any foam that forms.
Cook the broth for 1.5 hours over very low heat, so that the liquid only “stirs” a little and does not boil.
Cut the fish fillet into portions.
Place the fillet in the broth, add salt and simmer until cooked for 30 minutes.
Then very carefully remove the pieces of fish fillet from the broth with a slotted spoon so that they do not break, and place them into portioned bowls.
Strain the broth through several layers of gauze.
The viscosity of the broth, and therefore the solidification of the future fish aspic, can be checked by squeezing a drop of liquid in your fingers - if the fingers stick together well, it means that the fish aspic will harden. If stickiness is not felt, you can use gelatin.
To do this, dilute a bag of gelatin in warm broth until completely dissolved and pour the gelatin mass into the broth.
Pour broth over the fish, garnish with boiled carrot figures and herbs. It is better to garnish the fish aspic with lemon slices after it has hardened so that the dish does not become bitter.
Place the fish aspic in a cool place to cool completely, and then into the refrigerator.
The fish aspic will be ready in 4-5 hours.
Serve fish aspic with horseradish.
Lenten borscht
Red borscht was traditionally cooked for Christmas. 
How to cook lean borscht:
Cut red beets (1 kg) into slices, soak for two days in cold water with a crust of black bread. Soak dried mushrooms overnight and boil. Boil the beets and cut them. Chop fresh carrots and parsley. Pour boiled beets, carrots, mushrooms, parsley with beet brine and cook until tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Fried carp
Fish is especially useful because it contains a lot of phosphorus, which takes an active part in metabolism. 
How to cook:
We take purely Slavic fish - carp. We clean from scales and entrails. We cut large fish into pieces. Sprinkle with salt and ground black pepper to taste.
Fry in sunflower oil, without flour and without batter, on both sides over medium heat (you can first cover with a lid so that the fish is fried inside).
Sauerkraut
Another traditional Slavic dish. Cabbage is mixed with frozen cranberries. Cranberries and cabbage complement each other - in combination, you get a good set of vitamins and microelements (vitamin C, iron, calcium, protein and other useful substances). Sauerkraut for the Christmas table must be prepared three days in advance.
Compound:
White cabbage (late varieties) - 5 kg (net weight of cabbage),
carrots (large) - 4 pcs (1 kg),
salt - 100 g (*do not use iodized salt) 
Preparation:
Wash the cabbage, dry it and cut the head of cabbage into 4 parts - you get 4 large cabbage wedges. Cut the stalk and finely chop the cabbage (you can use a special grater).
Wash the carrots, peel them, wash them again and grate them on a coarse grater.
Measure the salt and pour it into a small container (bowl or saucer).
Place 3-4 large handfuls of cabbage in a saucepan (or large plastic bowl), sprinkle with some salt, mix well and grind the cabbage with salt until juice appears.
Add some carrots to the cabbage and stir.
Then compact the cabbage with a wooden masher or rolling pin.
* You can add flavoring seasonings to cabbage: cumin, dill seeds.
Thus, in small portions, adding cabbage, carrots and salt, compact all the cabbage with a wooden rolling pin so that a large amount of juice appears in the groove from the rolling pin.
Then, with clean hands (you can use your fists), press the cabbage in the pan so that all the cabbage is covered with cabbage juice, put a plate and press down with pressure (you can use a 3-liter jar filled with water as pressure).
Stick a wooden rolling pin into the side (to release gases).
The cabbage ferments for about three days (at room temperature).
Several times a day you need to pierce it with a rolling pin (a clean knitting needle or a long knife), reaching to the bottom of the pan, and you can see how a large number of bubbles - gases - are released (if this is not done, the cabbage will turn out bitter).
On the third day (the fermentation time for cabbage may vary slightly), the brine brightens and subsides, and the foam also disappears.
Also, the readiness of cabbage can be determined by taste.
Transfer the finished cabbage to a clean jar (do not compact it too much), pour in brine, cover with a plastic lid and store in the refrigerator.
Stuffed peppers without meat
A great Lenten recipe for Christmas. If your family does not fast, you can stuff the peppers with minced meat and rice.
What you will need:
6 sweet peppers
2-3 carrots
2-3 onions
2 tomatoes
1 eggplant - to taste
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp. rice
500 ml vegetable or chicken broth
vegetable oil
tomato paste - to taste
salt, spices - to taste 
How to cook:
Wash the pepper, remove the stem and remove the seeds. Finely chop the vegetables and simmer in heated vegetable oil until cooked, adding salt and spices to taste.
Boil the rice until half cooked and mix with minced vegetables - the filling is ready. Stuff the peppers, then place them in a saucepan, adding vegetable oil to the bottom, and pour broth on top.
Simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes, then add finely chopped fresh herbs, tomato paste, spices and finely chopped garlic. Reduce heat and simmer for another 25-30 minutes.
Stuffed peppers are ready. Serve with fresh herbs, sour cream and garlic.
Mushroom pie
For the test:
1.5 cups flour, 100 g margarine, 4 g dry yeast, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 0.5 cup liquid (water), 2 teaspoons sugar.
For filling:
1-2 large onions, 500-700g fresh champignons, 1/2 teaspoon salt 
How to cook the pie:
Prepare lean yeast dough. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1.5 hours.
Finely chop the onion.
Pour vegetable oil into a deep frying pan and heat over high heat.
Add the onion and fry with constant stirring until slightly translucent.
Reduce heat to min. Simmer the onion, stirring occasionally, while the mushrooms are cut.
Sort the mushrooms and wash if necessary. Cut into thin slices.
Add the mushrooms to the pan with the onions.
Stir until the onion rises from bottom to top. Add some salt.
Turn up the heat and fry with constant stirring until the mushrooms are fried to the desired degree (4-7 minutes).
Divide the dough into two unequal parts.
Roll out most of it into a circle with a diameter of 28-30cm (for a mold 24-26cm + 4cm on the sides), place on a greased baking sheet.
Place the filling in the middle of the circle and smooth it out.
Roll out the second half of the dough into a circle with a diameter of 22-24cm.
Cover the filling with a small circle and, lifting the edges of the bottom circle, pinch.
Brush the top of the pie with an egg, beaten with 2-3 tablespoons of water (it is better to use not the whole egg, but only the yolk).
Preheat the oven to t=200°C and bake the pie until browned (about 30 minutes).
If the pie begins to brown too quickly, cover the top with a piece of foil.
Remove the finished pie from the oven and transfer to a plate.
Apples baked with honey and nuts
Baked apples with nuts and honey are not only a lean and healthy dish, but also very tasty. Baked apples contain a lot of pectin - substances that absorb cholesterol and thereby reduce the risk of atherosclerosis.
The enzymes contained in honey promote digestion and improve the absorption of food. Nuts strengthen the immune system, which is very useful in winter, lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels, improve metabolism, digestion and appetite. 
What do you need:
Peeled walnuts - 100 g
large apples - 4 pcs.
honey - 4 tbsp. l.
What to do:
Wash the apples and dry them. Cut off the top and stem of each apple, then carefully cut out the core.
Chop the nuts into coarse crumbs with a knife and mix with honey. Spread the mixture into the prepared apples. Place them in a microwave-safe dish, pour in 4 tbsp. l. water, cover. Cook for 2-3 minutes. at 100% power.
Well, and most importantly, treat the Christmas tradition with respect and sincerity, and your good thoughts will return to you with increased goodness! Happy holiday, Happy Evening, Merry Christmas!
3 years ago
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Christmas is considered one of the greatest Orthodox holidays throughout the world. In Russia, Christmas is celebrated on January 7, this day ends the forty-day fast. The day before, on Christmas Eve, it is customary for the whole family to gather around a table set with twelve Lenten dishes. This meal is called a rich supper; every dish on the Christmas table has a sacred meaning. So, traditions of the Christmas table.
Traditional dishes for Christmas
Christmas Eve
The festive family dinner on January 6 includes 12 Lenten dishes - the same number of apostles who took part in the Last Supper. On Christmas Eve, it is customary to prepare dishes from vegetables and fruits to bring good luck and prosperity into the house for the whole year.
The main dishes of the table on the Holy Evening before Christmas are: Kutya and Uzvar .
Kutie called porridge, cooked from whole grains, with the addition of honey, crushed nuts, raisins, and crushed poppy seeds. Christmas kutia can be made from wheat, barley, rice or pearl barley. It is with the tasting of kutya that the Christmas Eve meal begins.
Each component of kutya has a symbolic meaning. Grain is a symbol of renewal of life, honey symbolizes health and well-being in the home, poppy and nuts symbolize prosperity and success in business. According to folk traditions, tasty and “rich” kutia ensures a good harvest and becomes a talisman for the family home throughout the year.
Traditional drink on Christmas Eve - uzvar This is the name for compote made from a mixture of dried fruits - apples, cherries, pears, plums and others. It is customary to add honey, dried rose hips or rowan berries, and aromatic herbs (mint, lemon balm, rose petals) to the Christmas dinner. This drink is rich in vitamins and minerals, has tonic properties and strengthens the immune system.
The first course on Holy Evening is Lenten borscht or thick soup with millet and fresh or sauerkraut. In different regions, boiled beans, dried mushrooms or abalone (dough products with a lean filling, similar to small dumplings) are added to lean borscht.
On Christmas Eve, cabbage, mushrooms, stewed cabbage, lean or mushrooms, or millet porridge, or with fruit fillings are served as a mandatory dish on the table. A mandatory attribute of Christmas dinner is boiled peas, beans or broad beans with fried onions in vegetable oil. Also served on the table are fried fish and homemade pickles - sauerkraut, pickled tomatoes and cucumbers, peppers, pickled apples.
Dinner on Christmas Eve begins after the first star appears in the sky - until this time, only children were allowed to eat. After the prayer, all participants try kutya, then borscht and other hot dishes are served. The meal traditionally lasts 3-4 hours; this evening carolers go from house to house, sing songs and wish the owners well-being. They are presented with sweets and pastries and invited to the table. In many families, on the evening of Christmas Eve, children bring kutya to their godparents or grandparents.
What to cook for Christmas
The fast ends on January 7th , meat and poultry dishes appear on the table - boiled pork, goose or duck with apples, and more. The Christmas menu also included dairy dishes - porridge with milk - or milk noodles.
Table setting for Christmas
In the process of preparing for the Christmas holidays, it is important not only to prepare treats, but also to pay attention to table setting. Most often in decor there is a combination of white with red or green.
Lay out an elegant tablecloth with a pattern and complement the decoration of the festive table with paper or textile napkins in a contrasting color.
For decorative elements, you can use figured candles and figurines of angels.
A traditional decoration for the festive Christmas table is the didukh - a talisman woven from ears of corn or straw.
Multi-colored garlands and an elegantly decorated Christmas tree will help create a festive atmosphere in the room.
Treats prepared with love and a beautiful setting of the Christmas table are the key to a rich harvest, prosperity and well-being in the home. May 2017 bring health, love and prosperity to every home!
On my website you will find recipes for treating friends and family at Christmas. Share your family's traditional Christmas treats in the comments.
2017, . All rights reserved.
Hello dear readers. Christmas is no less important a holiday than New Year, although many today completely forget about it. On this day we celebrate the birth of Christ, which means that the celebration must take place according to all the rules. Many of us, while celebrating Christmas, completely forget about the true meaning of this holiday. It is for these reasons that we believe that any dishes can be prepared for the holiday table. Although in fact there is a list of certain dishes that would be appropriate for a holiday meal. This holiday involves preparing exclusively Lenten dishes, so you will have to give up some of the usual delicacies. At Christmas, the whole family gathers together at one table, so it is necessary to prepare a sufficient number of festive dishes.
There are a huge number of similar dishes, but for celebrating Christmas you should choose the most suitable ones.
Of course, today not everyone adheres to fasting, but still some lenten dishes are traditional today and are served at the Christmas table.
What dishes are prepared for Christmas? What to cook for Holy Evening
If for the New Year we can prepare absolutely any dishes, then for Christmas we need to prepare a somewhat restrained menu. Ideally, all dishes should be lean, which means they should not contain meat, milk or eggs.
Now, many do not follow this important rule when preparing various meat delicacies.
But if you are used to sticking to traditions, then during the celebration you will have to give up your usual meat treats. Therefore, you should prepare traditional dishes for Christmas.
The main dish that everyone is used to preparing on this important day is kutia. Traditional kutia is made from boiled wheat, which is supplemented with liquid honey. In this case, it acts as a symbol of fertility and prosperity.
Today, boiled rice, which is also served with a small amount of honey, is becoming a popular substitute for wheat. Each family prepares kutya according to its own special recipe, so today there are a huge number of variations of this traditional dish.
Dinner is prepared the day before Christmas, and the hostess must be in a good mood during preparation. At this time, we need to forget about all existing problems, because our mood can affect not only the preparation of dishes, but also the general festive atmosphere.
The festive table should consist of 12 traditional Lenten dishes, personifying all the apostles. Therefore, it is necessary to think through the holiday menu in advance, which will contain only lean dishes. Also, let me remind you that it is better to celebrate Holy Evening with close people.
An obligatory dish is kutia, which is ceremoniously placed on the family table, giving the owner of the house the right to be the first to try this delicacy. Only after this can the rest of the family taste the kutya, scooping it up with a spoon.
And now it’s time to get acquainted with the rest of the festive dishes that will be present on the Christmas table.
12 dishes for Christmas - recipes
Nowadays, not many people would agree to give up a baked bird or meat pie. In this regard, a festive menu was compiled, consisting of meat dishes, without which the celebration would hardly be considered successful. Although many still fast without experiencing any discomfort.
We will look at a modern version of the Christmas menu, which consists of a wide variety of dishes prepared according to a special recipe.
1. Kutya
If earlier this dish was prepared exclusively from wheat grains and honey, today there are a huge number of options for its preparation, which differ in the variety of ingredients.
Today, in addition to wheat, rice is also used, which is supplemented with raisins and walnuts.
We will consider the next version of kutya, for the preparation of which we will need the following ingredients.
Ingredients:
- a glass of rice and wheat grains;
- a glass of raisins;
- 100 g honey;
- sugar and salt to taste.
Preparation
The cooking process takes a small amount of time, so this dish will please any housewife.
First of all, you need to boil the rice in lightly salted water, then transfer it to a colander and rinse under running water. Place the washed rice in a separate bowl, where we mix it with honey and sugar. We thoroughly wash the raisins, then pour boiling water over them so that they gain moisture.
Add softened raisins to the rice and mix thoroughly. Actually, the dish is ready, which means it can already be served.
2. Pie with cabbage and mushrooms
This dish is considered lean, because mushrooms are used as a meat substitute. This option is perfect for those people who still adhere to fasting during these holidays.
That is, there may be meat dishes on the table, but it is always important to provide a choice to guests who can follow the good old traditions.
Preparing such a pie will not take too much time, because we will use ready-made dough for its base.
Let's take a look at the list of products that will need to be prepared to prepare such a pie.
Ingredients:
- half a kilogram of puff pastry;
- 200 g champignons;
- 100 g hard cheese;
- half of white cabbage;
- a third of a glass of milk;
- 20 g butter;
- two medium-sized potatoes;
- two tablespoons of vegetable oil;
- a mixture of dried herbs, salt, pepper.
Preparation
Despite the fact that this is a pie, it does not take long to prepare. At least most of the time will be spent baking the pie itself. But first of all, you need to try to chop the cabbage as finely as possible, adding a little salt and pepper.
A small amount of vegetable oil is added to a heated frying pan, in which we will fry our cabbage until fully cooked. Cut the mushrooms into small slices and fry in a separate frying pan along with the basil. The frying process will take at least 10 minutes, and the prepared mixture should be poured with soy sauce.
Next, we begin to prepare the potatoes, which need to be boiled until fully cooked and the prepared butter and milk added to it. Essentially, we are preparing a puree that will become part of the filling. Mix the mushrooms with cabbage and cheese, then add the prepared puree.
Preheat the oven to 210 degrees, into which we place two layers of puff pastry. After just 15 minutes, the cakes will be completely ready, after which they will need a little time to cool completely.
After the cakes have cooled, distribute all the prepared filling onto one of them, and cover with the second cake on top. Sprinkle grated cheese on top of the pie and place in the oven for another five minutes until the cheese is completely melted.
3. Compote with dried fruits
Since at this time of year it will be problematic to prepare compote from fresh fruits, dried fruits come to our aid, which will be an ideal basis for uzvar.
You can use not only dried fruits, but also various spices that will give the drink a special piquancy.
In order to prepare such an uzvar, we will need:
- two liters of purified water;
- half a kilogram of various dried fruits;
- 3 tablespoons of sugar;
- a tablespoon of honey.
Preparation
First, let's start with our dried fruits, which will include: pear, apple, cherry and apricot. You can choose the ideal combination of fruits for yourself, that is, you don’t have to use them all.
We wash the dried fruits and leave them in warm water so that they have time to soften. Boil water for the compote and add the prescribed amount of sugar, after which we place the fruit in the syrup.
Boil the compote for about half an hour, after which we give it a little time to cool. Add a spoonful of honey to the warm drink.
4. Easy baking
No holiday table is complete without baking, but more often than not, we make do with the store-bought version. For such a holiday, you can take the time to bake delicious homemade pies yourself.
For this we need the following products:
- half a kilogram of apples;
- 500 g flour;
- 60 g margarine;
- 1 pack of yeast;
- one glass of milk;
- three tablespoons of sugar;
- 2 teaspoons sunflower oil;
Preparation
It is necessary to dissolve the yeast in milk, adding a teaspoon of sugar. Beat the eggs together with melted margarine and sugar.
Pour a few tablespoons of vegetable oil into the mixture, and begin to gradually introduce the prescribed amount of flour. Gradually knead the dough, after which we leave it for about an hour so that it has time to rise.
Peel the apples and cut them into small cubes, which will need to be fried in a frying pan, adding a small amount of sugar. Next, we form the pies themselves by placing an equal amount of filling into the dough.
The pies will be ready 15 minutes after they are placed in the oven, and the oven should be preheated to 200 degrees.
5. Salad “Poloninsky”
This salad is a meatless dish, so it will please everyone. In addition, it is quite simple to prepare, which will not take you too much time.
For preparation you will need the following ingredients:
- two small beets of the same size;
- about a dozen walnuts;
- one onion;
— 300 frozen mushrooms;
- a few cloves of garlic;
- a teaspoon of vinegar;
- about five tablespoons of vegetable oil.
Preparation
The beets are baked in the oven for about an hour, after which they are peeled and cut into strips. Add a little vinegar to it.
Grind the garlic and nuts using a meat grinder. Mix all ingredients and season with vegetable oil.
6. Vinaigrette
This salad is familiar to everyone, because it is prepared from the simplest vegetables, which are first boiled until fully cooked, peeled and cut into cubes.
To prepare, we need potatoes, beets, carrots, pickled cucumbers and beans.
All these ingredients are thoroughly mixed, and the salad is complemented with vegetable oil and fresh onions.
7. Dumplings with potatoes
For dumplings, prepare ordinary yeast-free dough from wheat flour. The filling can be boiled potatoes with the addition of fried mushrooms and onions. Both wild and porcini mushrooms can be used.
8. Stuffed cabbage rolls
Ordinary cabbage rolls are prepared with meat, but if you are fasting, then this ingredient can be replaced, for example, with the same mushrooms. Most often, rice is used for the filling, but you can also replace it with millet.
The Lenten version, consisting of mushrooms and millet, is complemented by stewed carrots, onions and tomatoes. The further course of action is probably known to everyone.
9. Pickles
We need to create an interesting mixture of sauerkraut, tomatoes and frozen cranberries.
This light, slightly spicy salad will please absolutely everyone, and at the same time, it will serve as an ideal snack.
Cranberries and cabbage are a rather unusual combination, but the taste is quite interesting.
10. Vegetable stew
To prepare such a lean dish you will need carrots, celery, onions and parsnips. If this combination of vegetables seems boring to you, then you can supplement it with the same mushrooms. They will give the dish a special taste and aroma.
By the way, it is best to use dried mushrooms, because only they can make vegetable stew so fragrant.
11. Cabbage
The classic version of this dish involves the use of meat broth, but if we are fasting, then it should be cooked in water.
To prepare cabbage we need sauerkraut or raw cabbage, to which millet is added. You can add potatoes or parsnips to the resulting mixture; the choice is yours.
The carrots are grated and then fried along with the onions in vegetable oil. Boil the dish until fully cooked.
12. Baked apples with honey and nuts
To prepare such a festive dessert, you will only need sweet varieties of apples. The secret to cooking apples evenly is to first pierce them with a fork all over the surface.
Remove the core from each apple and place inside each apple a teaspoon of honey and walnuts, which must be chopped in advance. Sprinkle sugar mixed with cinnamon on top of the apples and place in the oven.
Please note that a small amount of water must be poured into the bottom of the mold to prevent the fruit from burning.
Lenten dishes for Christmas
Each of the proposed recipes has several cooking variations. In fact, even from an ordinary dish containing meat, you can prepare a lean version by replacing the meat with another ingredient of similar calorie content.
Traditional delicious dishes for Christmas are rich in a fairly large number of different vegetables, which makes them lean. If you are not used to fasting, then you can prepare classic versions of such dishes.
Each of us wants to spend Christmas at the festive table, enjoying delicious homemade dishes. Some strictly adhere to fasting, while others do not deny themselves anything even on such a day.
But both have their own ideal menu, the dishes of which may vary depending on the ingredients used.
Prepare 12 dishes for Christmas that will decorate your table and delight not only you, but also your guests. I hope you liked the recipes!
Christmas is one of the most beloved and long-awaited Christian holidays all over the world. What Christmas dishes are prepared in different countries?
During the Christmas holidays, the entire united Europe gladly turns to the traditions of its conservative great-grandmothers: each country has its own recipe for turkey or goose and its own secret way to attract good luck and happiness in the new year!
At Christmas it is customary to gather with the whole family, with relatives and friends, prepare delicious Christmas dishes and set a rich table. Every country has special traditional dishes that are served on the table in Christmas Eve .
In Great BritainChristmas is celebrated turkey with cranberry sauce , Brussels sprouts, fried potatoes, boiled or steamed vegetables are served as a side dish. Another popular dish — pork leg, decorated cherries and cloves.Traditional dessert — pudding with raisins, candied fruits and nuts ,which, before serving, is doused with a mixture of rum and liqueur and set on fire. The British Christmas drink ishot ale.
IN Scotland baked for Christmas Celtic treat - thin oatcakes, which you then carry with you all day: if the cake breaks or you gnaw it, then you shouldn’t expect a good year. To the table served roast goose.
France throughout December fattens geese, turkeys and pigs for the Christmas table. A traditional Christmas dish - prepared in a special way turkey with cognac and cream , chestnuts, pate from goose liver, oysters, smoked salmon and all kinds of cheeses, as well — light onion soup , in the preparation of which they are used cream. Usually served for dessert Christmas log – Buche de Noеl - a creamy cake, and drinks - French champagne and dry wines.
IN Austria served to the table pork head with horseradish and lentils .Horseradish symbolizes good health, and lentils symbolize stable prosperity. In addition, they prepare Austrian bread with fruits, spices and marzipan filling called"Stollen" .
IN GermanyThe main dish of the Christmas table is goose with apples, prunes and cabbage, salmon with cream, pork with sauerkraut cabbage, homemade pies. Also served at the Christmas table fish, most often carp, or Rehrücken-backed deer. The table should have 7-9 dishes made from products that symbolize the origin of life: eggs, caviar, wheat, peas, beans. As a traditional drink, the Germans prepare special Christmas mulled wine , and for dessert they prefer nut pie and marzipan cake with cream or meringue.
IN Holland For Christmas dinner, small groups of people get together, everyone brings a frying pan and prepares their own dish of vegetables, meat, fish, shrimp. The Dutch also serve traditional European dishes. — fried beef, rabbit, pheasant, ham, turkey.Meat dishes are complemented by various vegetables and salads, fruits and sauces.
IN Italy no Christmas is complete without homemade pork sausage Kotekino, which is served in a loaf along with pears, shallots, juniper berries and numerous seasonings . Small dumplings are also usually served on the festive table. — tortellini, baked pork leg — Giampone and traditional pasta. Regular dessert on this day - pannetone cupcake, filled with dried fruits, among drinks - dry or sparkling wine.
It should be noted that in Italy standard recipes are not recognized and, Having once chosen fish as the queen of the Christmas table, they experiment with her now to the fullest. Fried cod in dough and broccoli, steamed cod, perch with white wine, struffoli (dessert with candied fruits) … Eel and oyster dishes are often served.
IN Spain on Christmas Eve they roast lamb, preparing turkey, dairy suckling pig, seafood dishes , and also prepare almond soup and boiled chestnuts. For dessert they serve turron with cream and nuts, marzipans and sweets made from egg whites, roasted almonds, honey and Sahara. However, at midnight, something else is more important here: residents go out to the central square of the city and, as the clock strikes, eat 12 grapes for each month of the next year!
IN Denmark served on the Christmas table roast goose stuffed dried fruits, with potatoes, red cabbage or sauce, or baked pork Prepared for dessert Grütze—rice porridge topped with thick, sweet jelly and sprinkled with roasted almonds. Traditional Danish Christmas drinks - Glögg, mulled wine and beer .
IN Norwayare traditional fish dishes, as well as lamb or pork ribs, roast pork, rutabaga puree, sauerkraut and boiled potatoes. On Christmas Day, Norwegians drink spicy potato vodka and serve seven types of cookies or biscuits for dessert.
IN Finland in addition to the traditional European goose or ham (eaten with mustard or bread), they serve traditional salad "Rassolye" - a variation of our vinaigrette, only it is seasoned not with butter, but with whipped cream. Finns eat at the festive table Vham, chicken legs, fish, liver casserole with raisins, baked turnips or potatoes .It is considered a festive drink"Gleggy" (mulled wine) - an alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink made from juice and/or wine.
IN Sweden At Christmas it is customary to eat hearty dishes: pickled herring, meat dishes with cabbage or berry sauce, ham, liver pate, jelly, homemade smoked sausage , baked potatoes and national dish - kropkakor - balls of boiled potato mixture, ham and bacon.Traditional dessert- rice pudding, served with a single almond hidden inside.
IN Belgium serves boar meat, veal sausage with truffles, Christmas cake and various wines. Dessert is served cognous or cougnoless - tiny cookies in the shape of baby Jesus .
IN Portugal eat at Christmas baccalao, which means “dried dried cod”, which is washed down with sweet port wine .
IN Ireland smoked salmon served with shrimp cocktail - pieces of fish and shrimp, which are beautifully laid on green salad leaves and poured over the sauce and ham or turkey .
Very interesting christmas table Iceland:main course here became white partridge, which previously only poor families ate, who could not afford lamb. They serve her "leaf" bread- very thin, almost transparent flatbreads through which you can read the Bible (grain in Iceland has always been a luxury and they are used to using it sparingly).
Children fold this thin bread into figures like origami - snowflakes, Christmas trees, candles - and hang on the tree as decorations. For dessert, rice pudding is served, in which the luckiest member of the family will have to find an almond hidden inside. Children wash down treats with a malt drink containing orange juice(Jolamalt) and the parents drink potato Brennivin schnapps, known as the Black Death. The name speaks for itself.
IN Czech Republic don't eat meat on Christmas Eve, so as part of this tradition Christmas dish is fried carp with cumin And potato salad. It is also customary to prepare different christmas cookies, which are distributed to guests. For dessert, Czechs eat fresh apples, on which it is customary to guess: if there is a correct star made of seeds inside, then the coming year will be successful and happy.
IN Ukraine traditionally the main dish of the Holy Evening (the day before Christmas January 6th) isKutya.All components of this dish have a symbolic meaning: grain is a symbol of resurrected life, honey - health and sweet life, poppy - family prosperity. Traditionally, in addition to kutya, the festive table should also have 11 dishes (including kutia 12 - in honor of the 12 apostles):uzvar (compote made from dried berries and fruits), cabbage, peas, fish dishes, cabbage rolls with rice, lean borscht with mushrooms, buckwheat porridge, dumplings with cabbage , lean pancakes, mushrooms and pies.
The Holy Evening begins with the first star, which marks the birth of God's son. The festive meal takes place without alcohol, the dishes are served slightly warmed up so that the hostess is constantly at the table and not distracted by cooking.
IN Poland on the festive table on Christmas Eve there should be 12 dishes without meat (as in Ukraine) - according to the number of apostles. The first course is usually served with sourish beet broth with tiny dumplings — borscht with ears , and the main dish is carp. It is customary to give the head of the carp to the head of the family, and put large scales in his wallet to keep money. On Christmas Eve, Poles do not drink alcohol, but on Christmas Day they gather around the table with various types of meat and wine. .
