Gray winter days in our country are colored by long New Year and Christmas holidays. How much fantasy culinary excellence need to show our hostesses to cook festive table for every holiday, so as not to repeat itself and surprise family members and friends, striking them with another masterpiece!

The Christmas meal is different from the usual in this regard. festive feast. And the point is not only in a completely different mood, and not even in the fact that strict Orthodox Christians complete the long Philippian fast on Christmas Eve. The Christmas table is prepared in accordance with centuries old traditions. We have already talked about how these traditions developed, what dishes should be on the festive table on Christmas Day, on our website. And we will tell you how to cook not only traditional dishes, sweets and drinks, but also about modern curiosities of culinary thought.

It is believed that on the Christmas table there must be such dishes: pancakes, fish, jelly, aspic, fried chicken or goose, suckling pig, pork head with horseradish, roast, homemade sausage, carols, bread with poppy seeds and honey, honey gingerbread. Complicated? Of course, few people will cook suckling pig or pig's head, but sochivo (kutya, in other words), Christmas goose and homemade sausage are quite within the power of any culinary specialist.

Sochivo (Kutya)

Ingredients:
1 stack wheat grains,
50-100 g raisins,
50-100 g dried apricots,
50-100 g prunes,
50-100 g poppy,
50-100 g of nuts (several types are possible),
3-5 tbsp honey.

Cooking:
Determine the amount of dried fruits and nuts according to your taste. Pre-wash and steam raisins, prunes and dried apricots in boiling water. Soak nuts and poppy seeds. Sort the wheat, rinse well and put in thick-walled pan, fill with three glasses of water. Place in preheated oven for 2-3 hours. Wheat should be completely boiled, the grains will become soft. Cool down in a saucepan. In the meantime, chop the dried fruits and nuts, grind the poppy seeds in a mortar until a homogeneous mass is obtained (poppy milk). Mix all the ingredients and pour honey full (dilute honey 1: 1 with water and boil).

Kutya from rice

Ingredients:
1 stack rice,
1.5 tbsp honey,
100 g raisins,
100 g dried apricots,
100 g almonds
100 g hazelnuts,
2-2.5 stack. orange juice.

Cooking:
Boil rice with orange juice. Cut the prepared nuts and dried fruits and mix with rice. Decorate large pieces dried apricots.

On the Christmas table, there must certainly be a dish of poultry. We will talk about how to cook a Christmas goose in a separate article. Now we will talk about duck or chicken. The sourness of apples and dried fruits favorably sets off the taste of the bird. Try it!

Duck in prune sauce

Ingredients:
1 medium duck (about 2 kg),
400 g pitted prunes,
3 sweet and sour apples,
1 tbsp honey,
1 tbsp dry thyme,
6 tbsp dry red wine
1 tbsp starch,
salt, black ground pepper- taste.

Cooking:
Carefully inspect the duck for any remaining feathers and, if necessary, pluck them out with tweezers. This is very important, otherwise all your work may go to waste. Now prepare the filling: peel and core the apples, cut them into thin slices, combine with 300 g of steamed and dried prunes and add thyme. Put the resulting mixture into the belly of the duck and sew it up with a harsh thread or stab it with toothpicks. Lay the duck on its back, prick the entire surface with a knife, making fairly frequent cuts. Rub duck with salt and pepper and brush with honey. In an oven preheated to 180-190 ° C, place a baking sheet with a duck and bake for about 1.5 hours. Do not forget to water the duck with the resulting juice, about once every 10 minutes. For the sauce, soak the remaining prunes in boiling water for about half an hour, dry and finely chop. Pour the wine into a saucepan, put on slow fire. Meanwhile, stir the starch into 2 tbsp. water and add to wine. Stir and add prunes. Boil the sauce over low heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly. Then wipe through a sieve or chop in a blender and leave in a saucepan, wrapping it. Serve the duck by slicing it into portioned pieces, laying the apple-prune minced meat and pouring over the sauce. Use as a garnish fresh vegetables and mashed potatoes.

chicken in beer

Ingredients:
1 plump chicken (preferably chilled)
1 bottle of beer (not filtered)
2 green apples
5-6 tbsp soy sauce (good!)
3-4 tbsp redcurrant jelly,
ground black pepper, ground paprika - to taste.

Cooking:
Carefully inspect the chicken and remove the remaining feathers, cut off the “butt”. Dry and pack. Sprinkle with spices, pour soy sauce and refrigerate overnight. Then pour a little vegetable oil on a baking sheet, place the chicken on it breast side up, place apples cut into thin slices around the chicken and place the baking sheet in the oven, heated to 180-190 ° C. As soon as the skin is browned, start pouring the beer over the chicken, about once every 10-15 minutes. 10 minutes before the end of cooking, pour beer over the chicken for the last time and place currant jelly on it. Ready chicken put on a dish, and chop the apples and juice released during frying in a blender. It turns out spicy sauce. Fried rice can be served as a side dish.

Cook traditional meat dishes. For example, stewed meat in pots.

Meat in pots "Merchant"

Ingredients for 4 pots:
500 g pork or beef,
8 medium potatoes
16 large champignons,
500 ml beef broth
150 g heavy cream,
2 heads of onions,
100 g hard cheese,
Provence herb mix
salt, ground black pepper - to taste.

Cooking:
Cut the meat into small pieces, potatoes, onions and mushrooms into cubes. Grate the cheese on fine grater. Put a layer of onions on the bottom of the pots, then a layer of potatoes, on it - meat and mushrooms. Salt, pepper. Pour in the broth, pour over the cream, sprinkle with cheese and seasonings. Put the pots in cold oven, cover with lids and turn on the fire. Bring the temperature to 200-230°C and cook for 1-1.5 hours. This is very hearty meal so serve it with large quantity fresh vegetables.

In Argentina, baked fish is prepared for Christmas. Place 500 g of chopped carrots, 4 chopped onions, parsley on the bottom of the pan. Salt, pepper. Place pieces of fish on vegetables, pour oil, pour 1 stack. water and close the lid tightly. Place the pan in hot oven and keep until the fish is ready (about half an hour).

If you want to surprise your family and guests, cook real homemade sausage. If fussing with washing the intestines seems unpleasant to you, then try to find a replacement for them. For example, a baking sleeve or cling film. True, with them you can only boiled sausage. Our site will share one such recipe with you.

Boiled sausage

Ingredients:
2 kg pork
500 g beef,
500 g unsalted lard,
50-70 g of dry white wine,
100-150 g pistachios,
1 tbsp zira,
½ tsp white ground pepper,

2 tsp black peppercorns,
1 tbsp Sahara,
2 tbsp salt.

Cooking:
Pass the meat separately through a meat grinder with a large grate, mix 1 tbsp into the pork. salt and all sugar, in beef - 1 tbsp. salt, mix thoroughly, wrap in a film and put in the refrigerator for 12 hours. After standing, combine both types of minced meat and pass 4 times through a meat grinder. Each time, passing the minced meat through a meat grinder, put it in the refrigerator for half an hour. In the process of grinding, add wine 1 tbsp. In a dry frying pan, heat the zira until a smell appears and immediately pound in a mortar. Soak pistachios in hot water, discuss. Add all seasonings to minced meat and knead thoroughly. Frozen lard cut into cubes and also mix into minced meat. Fold cling film 4-5 times to make a 30 x 40 cm rectangle. Make 2-3 of these rectangles. Put the minced meat on a film, form loaves and twist tightly. Tie the ends and tie the sausages with thin twine. Take a saucepan that is the right size for your sausages, fill it with water and put the sausage in. Bring to a temperature of 80-85 ° C, reduce the heat and cook the sausages for 2 hours. Soak the finished sausages in the cold for a day.

Finnish liver soufflé

Ingredients:
600 g beef liver,
100 g round rice,
250 ml milk
1 egg
2 yolks,
1 tsp salt,
1 onion
100-150 g raisins,
butter.

Cooking:
Chop the onion. Boil rice in boiling water until soft, strain and add milk. raw liver chop in a blender, combine with rice, add the egg and yolks, salt and mix well. The mixture should be fairly liquid. Lubricate portion molds with oil (ideally silicone ones), pour the mixture into them by ¾ and place in an oven preheated to 160 ° C for 1-2 hours, depending on the size of the molds. Ready soufflé remains moist, juicy, and its color changes from pinkish to grayish brown. Serve the soufflé with lingonberry jam or fresh lingonberries mashed with sugar.

Greek Christmas bread

Ingredients:
8 stack flour,
1 ½ tbsp dry yeast,
1 stack warm water,
1 stack warm red wine
¼ stack. orange juice
¼ stack. brandy,
½ stack olive oil,
1 stack Sahara,
1 ½ stack raisins,
1 ½ stack walnuts,
1/3 stack. pine nuts,
1 tbsp ground anise,
1 tsp ground cinnamon,
1 tsp ground cloves,
¼ tsp ground nutmeg,
zest from 2 oranges
glazing milk,
2 walnuts in shell
sesame seeds for sprinkling.

Cooking:
Mix yeast with ½ stack. warm water and 2 tbsp. flour, stir and leave until bubbles appear. Sift 2/3 of the flour into a large bowl, add salt, make a well and pour in the risen yeast, the remaining water and wine. Stir, cover with waxed paper and a damp towel and leave to rise in a warm place. The dough should double in size. Then mix the dough thoroughly, sift the remaining flour into it, add butter, Orange juice, cognac and orange zest. In a separate bowl, combine sugar, raisins, chopped walnuts, pine nuts, anise and all spices, mix and add to the dough. Knead the dough so that it does not stick to your hands, put it in a warm place and let it rise. Divide into 2 round shapes, oiled, cover with paper and a damp towel and again let rise 2 times. Before putting the bread in the oven, cut it crosswise with a floured knife, place an unpeeled walnut in the center and brush the surface of the bread with milk. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Preheat the oven to 230 ° C, put a frying pan with water on the bottom of the oven. Put the forms with the dough in the oven for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 200 ° C and bake for another 25-30 minutes. Lubricate the finished bread with water, cool slightly, then remove from the mold and cool on a wire rack.

Uzvar (Russian old drink)

Ingredients:
800 ml of water
120 g honey
100 g dried apples
100 g dried pears,
100 g dried cherries
100 g prunes,
100 g raisins.

Cooking:
Put well-washed dried fruits in boiling water and cook until soft. In this case, pears and apples should be cooked separately (they take longer to cook). Then combine the decoctions, boil, season with honey and leave in a cold place for 2 hours. Serve at clay pot or jug.

Christmas log (French traditional dessert)

Ingredients:
100 g flour
70 g sugar
4 eggs,
1 sachet of baking powder
250 g chocolate without filler,
250 ml heavy cream
100 g butter.

Cooking:
For the dough: beat eggs with sugar until white, add flour, baking powder, mix gently and pour onto a greased baking sheet. Bake at 150°C for 15 minutes. Turn over the finished layer on a wet towel, roll it into a roll and leave to cool. In the meantime, prepare the cream: heat the cream with butter to a boil, add the chocolate broken into pieces, refrigerate and stir vigorously until the chocolate is completely dissolved. Set aside a little cream for decoration, spread the roll with the rest of the cream, roll it up, brush the “log” on the outside with cream and apply patterns in the form of a bark with a fork. Trim the roll at both ends and attach the cut pieces to the "log" in the form of knots.

From time immemorial, the Nativity of Christ was not only church, but also national holiday. It continues to remain even in our enlightened days one of the most revered and at the same time beloved religious light festivals for many people. According to the Orthodox tradition in Russia, it is celebrated according to the Julian calendar - from January 6 to 7. In other countries where it is customary to use the Gregorian calendar, among Catholics and Protestants, it is celebrated on December 24-25.

Folk customs brought to us a reminder that the Christmas holiday has always been considered a family celebration, an occasion to gather all relatives at the table and feel the magical atmosphere of the sacrament of the birth of God's Son. It has always united both deeply believing people and new converts, those who first joined the atmosphere of the great twelfth holiday.

From November 28, all believers begin to adhere to the Advent Fast, which ends on Christmas Eve, on the evening of January 6. How to set the table for Christmas, following the traditions? Starting in the morning on this day, you need to cook sochivo or kutya - the main dish of the Christmas table. It is a porridge cooked from wheat with honey, fruits and nuts. It will not be possible to eat a hearty meal this evening - according to Orthodox canons, fasting is still going on. Until the first star, symbolizing the Bethlehem miracle of the birth of the Savior, no food is strictly allowed. The menu on Christmas Eve should only be Lenten! According to church rules, only fish, seafood, low-fat pastries, mushrooms, dumplings, vegetable dishes, sauerkraut and other products are allowed. Meat delights: Christmas goose, duck, turkey and chicken baked with apples, sauerkraut or porridge can be served on January 7 in the afternoon for breaking the fast.

How to set the Christmas table on Christmas Eve

In order to reflect the essence of this bright family holiday, Christmas symbols are used. Hardly any of modern housewives will put hay or straw under the tablecloth at the corners of the table or plant garlic cloves there. Rather, when serving, she will turn her attention to the harmony of the color of the tablecloth and decorations, in which the meaning of the holiday will be read.

The main Christmas colors are white, scarlet, yellow-gold, green and blue. White-boiled color has always been considered the main one, as it was associated with divine light. Red - symbolized the joy of the birth and resurrection of Jesus. The golden yellow color, or royal, was associated with the soul and well-being, and green color- has always been used as a symbol of eternal life. Many housewives use a blue tablecloth or dishes when serving a festive table on Christmas Eve, as a symbol of purity and spiritual purity. Before you set the table for Christmas, you need to decide on the range of shades so as not to visually overload it.

Elegant and at the same time simple can be an option that combines a white-boiled starched tablecloth, the same napkins and greens: coniferous twigs, spruce paws or everyone’s favorite poinsettia - the “Christmas star” in the center of the table. Greens can be arranged beautifully in ordinary glassware closer to the composition with a flower. Such a decoration, coupled with an elegant white tablecloth, will create a joyful festive mood. A dark red tablecloth, so popular these days, with napkins decorated with snowflakes, will add solemnity and nobility to the holiday. They harmonize well with it: white, yellow or decorated with golden tinsel candles in forged candlesticks, a wreath of coniferous branches with cones. Any housewife tries to put expensive dishes made of crystal and porcelain on the Christmas table.

And in memory of the symbols of Christmas, instead of natural hay, you can beautifully cut straw paper or white color, decorate the table with figures of angels or, if there is no place to put them on the table, hang paper unearthly creatures on threads.

Symbol of the Catholic Christmas Gingerbread Cookie- you can cook it yourself or replace it Tula gingerbread. But they look a little heavier than the traditional airy delicacy.

If in new year holidays hostesses try to surprise guests with new dishes, the family Christmas table on January 7 is traditional. Of the prescribed twelve dishes, it contains: pancakes, fish, roast goose, turkey, duck or chicken, stuffed with apples, cabbage or buckwheat porridge, young piglet, jelly or aspic, homemade sausage, roast with mushrooms and pastries: honey gingerbread, roll with poppy seeds and honey, different buns, pies and cookies. Before you set the table for Christmas, you must definitely prepare rich kutya(sochivo) and uzvar.

The recipe for uzvar is simple: for a couple of liters of boiling water, you need to take 0.5 kg of any dried fruit and bring them to a boil, adding 50 g bee honey. Bring to a boil again, but do not boil (!) and cool. Serve in a decanter or earthenware jug.

Traditional sochivo is made from wheat, but today it is popular rice kutya. The recipes for their preparation are identical: 200 g of rice or wheat, 100 g of confectionery poppy, 1 cup of any peeled nuts (walnuts, almonds, peanuts or hazelnuts), 50-100 g of honey (to taste), raisins 50 g or a quarter cup. Can add fresh cream, candied fruits. Rinse the grain cold water in proportion: to one part of the grains - two parts of water. Cook until ready. Then drain and chill. Poppy pour boiling water and boil until it becomes friable. Next, you need to scroll it in a meat grinder. Raisins are also steamed hot water. Mix all ingredients and serve.

At the Christmas table, it is not customary, as at the New Year's celebration, to treat guests with champagne. They usually start the meal with three spoons of kutya, which symbolize the tribute to the Holy Trinity. And at the table in a warm friendly atmosphere, they congratulate each other, have calm, unhurried conversations, give pre-prepared gifts and enjoy the comfort of the hearth.

The question of What to cook for Christmas has been relevant for many, many, many years. Every year on Christmas Eve, every Orthodox family sets a family Christmas table, which, according to tradition, should include 12 Lenten dishes,

Christmas is the brightest and most magical holiday. Christmas Eve - the night of January 6-7 is called Christmas Eve. Until the evening of Christmas Eve, the Orthodox adhere to a strict fast and break their fast only after the appearance of the first star in the sky.

Before Christmas, it is customary to set the table twice: on January 6 - on Christmas Eve, the table must be fast, and on January 7 - already on Christmas itself, here you can already cook dishes from eggs, milk and meat. Many adhere to the traditions and prepare 12 Lenten dishes for Christmas. The number 12 symbolizes the number of apostles, there were just 12 of them. Someone believes that 12 lenten dishes at Christmas symbolize the number of days of Christmas time - there are also twelve of them.

There is very little time left before the Holy Evening, and now it is important to know what to cook for Christmas 2017, how to treat relatives and invited guests tasty and healthy. Many mysterious and beautiful rituals and traditions are associated with Christmas night, which are still honored and observed in many families - for example, children walk and tell and sing carols at Christmas.

So what to cook for Christmas? What dishes to serve at Christmas on the table? What does a classic Christmas menu look like?

According to tradition, it is necessary to cook in without fail kutya or kutya. It's delicious and healthy porridge from wheat (there are recipes for making kutya from rice or millet), with which the Christmas feast begins.

What to Cook for Christmas - 12 Recipes for Christmas

1. Kutia

Ingredients: Wheat groats- 1 glass, walnuts - 1 glass, dried apricots - 10 pcs; raisins and poppy seeds for half a glass; honey.

We wash the cereal, leave it in cold water for 4 hours. After that, in a bowl made of aluminum or stainless steel, boil the cereal over low heat, adding 2 cups of water. When the porridge reaches readiness, set it aside and let it cool. At this time, poppy seeds, raisins and dried apricots in different dishes are poured with boiling water. When the water gets cold, drain it, grind the poppy seeds, cut the dried apricots into small pieces. Walnuts are also cut into small pieces. Mix the porridge with all the ingredients, add honey to taste.

2. Uzvar (compote)

Uzvar - dried fruit compote. The traditional Christmas drink uzvar is brewed from a mixture of dried apples and pears, cherries and plums. The real knot is saturated, pleasant taste, so cook it in advance - in the morning. This drink is also very useful, in winter you can cook uzvar not only for Christmas, Generous Evening and Baptism, but just like that, as an alternative to compotes (canned or frozen berries) and tea.

3. Lenten hodgepodge

The first dish for Christmas (on Christmas Eve) - Lenten hodgepodge how to cook?

Great for hot lean hodgepodge with mushrooms. For her, you need mushrooms (in winter, of course, the choice is small, so use fresh champignons, you can also take dry ones), a small head of cabbage, one carrot, two onions, two or three pickles, a small potato, salt, herbs, oil and pepper. So, put the water on the fire until the water boils, fry the mushrooms and onions. Grind cabbage, carrots, potatoes and pickles. Drop into boiling water one by one raw vegetables, let it boil, then mushrooms, let it boil and before removing the hodgepodge from the heat, add garlic, herbs and vegetable oil. The first dish is ready.

4. Pampushki

Traditional dish for Christmas - Pampushki

Pampushki is served on the table instead of bread, but bread must also be on the table. Pampushki are cute round buns from fresh yeast dough, and for them it is good to cook such a dish as ...

5. Vinaigrette

Let's make a vinaigrette for an appetizer. For him, we need boiled beets, carrots, potatoes, pickled cucumber, jar canned peas, herbs and salt. We cut the vegetables into small cubes, finely chop the greens, then combine all the ingredients, salt, season with oil. Vinaigrette is ready! In a strict post you need to eat meatless dishes without oil, so if the vinaigrette is not seasoned with oil, it can be served on the table on strict days.

6. Potatoes in foil in the oven

Dishes for Christmas recipes - Potatoes in foil in the oven

Ingredients: medium-sized potatoes (2 for each person), garlic - 4 cloves, herbs, vegetable oil, salt, spices, foil.

We thoroughly wash the potatoes, removing all particles of the earth. Let dry and then brush with oil on all sides. Cut off a piece of foil so that the piece matches the size of the tuber. Placed in the center of the sheet coarse salt, garlic, potatoes on top, which is sprinkled with salt. We pack. After the bundles are ready, it is necessary to make several holes in each of them with a toothpick. We heat the oven to 200 degrees, put bundles on a baking sheet, bake them for about fifty minutes. We check readiness. When there are no complaints, remove the foil, put the potatoes on a dish and sprinkle it with finely chopped herbs.

7. Cabbage rolls with mushrooms

Dishes for Christmas - Cabbage rolls with mushrooms recipe

Ingredients: champignon mushrooms, white cabbage, rice, onion, carrot, tomato paste, salt, pepper.

Cut the mushrooms, fry in oil. Add finely chopped onion to them, fry everything together. Three carrots, which are sent to the pan with mushrooms and onions. At this time, boil the rice, which is then mixed with the chilled contents of the pan. This is stuffing for cabbage rolls. Stuff boiled cabbage leaves. After that, lightly fry to fix the shape of the cabbage rolls. We put them in a saucepan. Prepare a mixture of water and tomato paste(for 1.5 cups of liquid - 3 tablespoons of pasta), pour the cabbage rolls. Simmer over low heat for 40 minutes.

8. Vareniki with potatoes

Vareniki on the Christmas table - What to cook for Christmas

On the lean table, be sure to put dumplings with potatoes. To do this, we prepare the dough as for dumplings, only without eggs. The filling is mashed potatoes with fried onions. Then we make dumplings, boil and serve on the table with vegetable oil.

9. Vareniki with cherries

Vareniki for Christmas - Sweet dishes for Christmas

Vareniki with cherries. A wonderful sweet dish that can be eaten as a dessert!

Although you can make dumplings with other fillings: potatoes, cabbage, beans and even poppy seeds.

10. Baked fish with vegetables

Baked fish with vegetables - great option for a delicious lenten Christmas dinner.

Ingredients: Fish (fillet) 2 pcs.; Red tomatoes 1 pc.; Bulgarian pepper 2 pcs.; Onion 2 pcs.; Garlic 2 cloves;

Peel vegetables and fish and prepare for further work. Chop the vegetables randomly and place them on a baking sheet. Salt, pepper, drizzle with olive oil and send them to bake in a preheated oven. Vegetables should be cooked through. Take the pan out occasionally and stir gently.

Rub the fillets with fish spices (or salt and pepper) and red paprika. When the vegetables are ready, lay the fillet on top, pour over the juice from the vegetables. Put in the oven for 3-5 minutes. Then turn over and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

11. Blanks

Christmas dishes - Preparations for the Christmas table - Salads for Christmas

Can open a jar vegetable salad from summer stocks - for example, pepper salad, eggplant, or make a salad from sauerkraut. Two to three menu items vary each year.

12. Dessert

Dessert on the Christmas table - Sweet dishes for Christmas 2017

Let's cook for dessert fruit jelly according to the principle of vegetable aspic. We cut the fruits, put them in glasses and fill them with a sweet solution of gelatin.

The second dessert Lenten table can be baked apples with honey, nuts and dried fruits.

Try to cook the right Christmas dinner, because 12 dishes are not just food, but a wonderful folk and family tradition, and it just seems like it takes a long time to make them. It's really easy to do everything.

What not to cook for Christmas - What dishes should not be on the Christmas table

Instruction

Cover the table with a white starched tablecloth. It is supposed to put a little straw under it - this is a symbol of the manger in which Jesus Christ was after. Napkins on this holiday should also be white, better - fabric. From the four corners of the table, put garlic under the tablecloth - it is believed that it drives away evil spirits from your home and your family. You can pour a little grain under it - this rite promises abundance.

At Christmas, 12 dishes must be present on the table, in memory of the twelve apostles - the disciples of the Savior. In traditional holiday menu includes, for example, kutya (sochivo), jelly, aspic, honey gingerbread. To make the task easier, cook at least a few of them, and add to the desired, for example, salads or pickles. Roast must also be present on the table, most often it is a whole baked bird. As a side dish for this dish, take potatoes fried in circles, cabbage or stewed apples(the last two options can also be used as minced meat). Goose can also be stuffed with orange slices. One of the options for the main Christmas dish is whole fish (perch, catfish, sturgeon). It can be baked in the oven under mushrooms and onions, bay sour cream sauce.

Put a kutya in the center of the table - it is with her that the conversation traditionally begins after a strict Christmas fast. To cook this dish, take a glass of wheat, nuts, raisins, poppy seeds and honey (to taste). Boil the grains, steam the poppy and grind it or pass it through a meat grinder. Mix all ingredients together. Serve cold.

An indispensable attribute of the Christmas table - a large number of variety of pastries. Try baking traditional "carols", it's not difficult at all. For “carols”, knead the dough from flour and water (milk) in a ratio of 2: 1, slightly salting it. Divide the dough into balls, leave for 20 minutes. After that, roll out the cakes, put the filling inside, pinch the edges so that you get small open cheesecakes or baskets. For the filling, you can take berries, cottage cheese, potatoes, mushrooms. Bake "carols" at a temperature of 200 degrees.

Boil uzvar - a traditional Christmas drink, a decoction of dried fruits. You can also cook sbiten - hot drink from water, spices (ginger, cinnamon, cloves) and honey. All ingredients are boiled for half an hour, then in hot sbiten you can add a little cognac.

Decorate the table with tall candles in glass candlesticks or compositions of coniferous twigs, you can add bunches of viburnum and spikelets to them.

Related article

You are able to transform Christmas into a real fairy tale, celebrate the holiday, like in a movie, behind a magnificently decorated table, even if you do not have the opportunity to load it with expensive delicacies. turn regular dinner in Christmas you can use a front tablecloth, unusually folded napkins, cute fairy-tale figurines, aromas and serving.

Instruction

If you decide to set the table in the same way as our ancestors did on Christmas stock up on some hay. Lay it out on the tabletop and then cover it with a white embroidered tablecloth. The white tablecloth is a symbol of purity and snow, the scarlet one is the blood of the Savior who was born into the world. Be sure to cook kutya, even if you don’t really like it. Put in a small gold-plated or glassware some kutya and place a beautiful lit candle in it. This dish should be in the center of the table.

If you are not going to decorate the table in an authentic style, then still pay attention to such a decorative element as candles. The shops now have great candles - from the classic to the most unusual. Put them in small candlesticks, it's good if they are made of colored crystal or glass so that the flame is reflected in them. You can use a large low vase instead of candlesticks. Fill it with water and float a few lighted candles (such small scented candles are sold in special metal stands). You can put flower buds in the water. They will draw attention to themselves with slow movement on the surface of the water and reflections of the flame in the crystal. This is a mesmerizing sight. In the room, it is best to dim or turn off the electric lighting during the time.

Christmas has always been the main and bright holiday in Russia it was always looked forward to, but celebrated widely and cheerfully. Celebrations, sleigh rides and troikas, fortune-telling are traditional Russian fun on this holiday. Of course, among all the entertainment, people did not forget about the feast. Moreover, in Russia before Christmas there is a long and rather strict fast.

After Lent, just before Christmas, on January 6, comes Christmas Eve. It precedes the conversation. You can start breaking the fast only with the appearance of the first star. You are surprised at the knowledge, experience and their reasonable application by our ancestors. After all, on Christmas Eve it was impossible to eat a lot. Only the dishes we'll talk about below. And this is without knowing such concepts as diet, how to get out of starvation, etc. They just limited it.

And only on January 7, in the morning, the real conversation began. And pig and roast goose, and lamb, and hare, and a glass too, everything was on the table. Traditional Christmas dishes are meat dishes. Another obligatory dish is baking. All kinds of pies, kulebyaki, pies, pies, pancakes with different fillings, casseroles. Fruits, berries, honey, gingerbread, cookies were served from sweets.

Well, how? Have you already worked up an appetite? Let's get down to business now.

Menu for the festive table on Christmas Eve and Christmas: Russian cuisine

Since the Christmas feast begins on Christmas Eve, January 6, and continues on the 7th, I think that we should start with Christmas Eve. Let's try to make it short.

Menu:

For Christmas Eve:

On Christmas:

On Christmas Eve, as a rule, the whole family gathered, and indeed anyone who wanted to could come in, so there were a lot of people. Since ancient times, 12 dishes were placed on the table on the last evening before the birth of Christ. (as a symbol of veneration of the 12 apostles who were with the Savior). There should have been an even number of people at the table, and if there was an odd number, then an empty chair was delivered and the device was placed.

Well, oh well, now we will analyze 2-3 recipes for traditional, obligatory dishes on Christmas Eve before Christmas and the rest are optional, but preferred. You can cook something similar if you wish.

1. Kutia (sochivo) classic with Uzvar

Kutia is the "mistress" of the Christmas table. Uzvar is another obligatory dish on the Christmas table. If kutya is considered the hostess of the holy supper, then the uzvar is her master.

Ingredients:

For kutya:

• Wheat peeled (polished) - 2 cups
• Raisins - 1 cup
• Walnuts - 1 cup
• Poppy - 1 glass
• Sugar - 3-4 tablespoons

For knot:

• Dried fruits - depending on the number of guests. Based on the calculation of 100g of dried fruits per 1 liter of water. If you want a thicker uzvar, put 120 g of dried fruits per liter of water.
• sugar - at the rate of 3 tbsp. per 1 liter of compote. Do it to your liking.

Cooking:

1. First, we wash the wheat in cold water.

2. As soon as the water becomes clear, set to boil. The ratio of water to grain is 2 to 1. Wheat will cook for approximately 40 minutes.

3. We also rinse the poppy well and pour boiling water over it.

4. Do not forget to stir the wheat periodically so that it does not burn.

5. Dry the peeled walnuts in a dry frying pan for about 5 minutes. Don't forget to shake or stir.

6. 20 minutes after the start of cooking, the wheat must be salted.

7. We wash the raisins.

8. We wash the dried fruits, then fill them with cold water and leave for 20 minutes.

9. Pour poppy with water, for 100 g of poppy - 70 ml. water, put on the weakest fire and simmer until the liquid is absorbed for about 30 minutes. If it turns out that the liquid was absorbed earlier, add a little more water.

10. Pour raisins with boiling water for 15 minutes.

11. We put dried fruits to boil, right in the liquid with which we poured them. As soon as it boils, add sugar and cook for 10-15 minutes.

12. Poppy is also ready, there is no liquid. Set aside and close the lid.

13, 40 minutes have passed, our wheat is ready. Rinse it with cold water.

14. We begin to collect kutya. Put the finished wheat into a deep cup.

15. Pour the nuts into a plastic bag,

wrap and roll with a rolling pin several times so that the nuts are crushed. You can cut them with a knife, grind them in a meat grinder, or grind them in any other way. But this one is the fastest.

16. Add nuts to wheat.

17. Add raisins, after draining the water.

18. Sprinkle poppy seeds with 2-3 tablespoons of sugar and grind well in a mortar. Well, if there is no mortar, we grind it in a cup with a rolling pin, until it becomes semi-liquid.

19. We also add it to our kutya.

20. Now add honey. It is desirable to add it liquid. To do this, you can warm it up or dilute it with a little warm water.

We mix everything well. Our kutya is ready. Our uzvar is also ready and infused a little.

We serve kutya on the table with a knot.

Bon appetit!

And now I want to show you a more common version of modern kutya:

2. Video - Christmas rice kutya

And one more, well, a completely simple recipe for kutya - for children

3. Video - Kutya from rice

4. Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

• Beets - 1-2 medium
• potatoes - 3 medium
• carrots - 1 medium
• Canned green peas - 3 tbsp.
• onion - 1 medium head
• pickled or pickled cucumbers - 2 medium
• sauerkraut - 3/4 cup
• Salt, sugar, pepper
• Vegetable oil

Cooking:

1. Boil beets, potatoes, carrots, cut into cubes.
2. Peel the onion and also cut into cubes.
3. Mix all the ingredients, season with vegetable oil, which you like. I really like with unrefined sunflower oil.

Bon appetit!

5. Two recipes for dumplings with potatoes

The first recipe used sour cream as a sauce. Please use vegetable oil. The second recipe corresponds to all the canons of Christmas Eve.

A few days ago, we prepared unusual, large dumplings in a frying pan But there are probably countless recipes for making dumplings and especially fillings for dumplings.

6. Delicious and simple colorful bean salad

Bean salad is prepared quite quickly, it is very nutritious dish which can fully replace meat. The beans contain a large amount of protein, vitamins, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, as well as fiber, which has positive impact on digestion and lowers cholesterol levels.

7. Stuffed peppers with vegetables

Stuffed Peppers or Stuffed Peppers - This dish is usually prepared with rice and meat as a filling, but for a Lenten Christmas table, you can wrap it in cabbage leaves mushrooms and millet. It turns out very tasty!

The rich composition of pepper makes it very useful for the heart and maintaining immunity. Beneficial features especially relevant for diabetics and people who control body weight, because Bell pepper, despite the ability to stimulate appetite, lowers blood sugar levels.

8. Fish with ginger sauce

on Christmas Eve it is allowed.

We have prepared fish many times in different types and under different sauces. Today we will cook with ginger sauce.

9. Seafood

In addition to fish, you can eat any seafood on Christmas Eve.

We have prepared two excellent seafood salads. Today you can safely use them.

10. Stuffed eggplant in the oven

Eggplant and mushrooms - another chic ingredient for your Christmas table.

Much has been written about eggplant and that it is very useful product, all sorts of usefulness in them can not be counted, and that they have very low calorie and indeed one of the most healthy vegetables at the potato level.

11. Baked apples with honey and nuts

The main winter vitamin dessert is a delicacy!

Ingredients:

• Apples - 4 pcs.
• Honey - 4 tbsp. l.
• Walnuts - 100 gr.
• Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg - to taste.

Cooking:

1. Wash apples. Cut off the top with the stem. Cut out the core and some pulp. So that the apple mold remains.
2. Grind nuts into large crumbs.
3. Mix honey with nuts, add cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg to taste and stuff apples.
4. Cover the apples with "hats" with stalks. Place the apples in a heatproof bowl. Add some water.

Bake in the oven at 180 degrees until the apples are soft. From time to time, water the apples with the resulting syrup.

12. Spicy pumpkin

Another gift for those who are going to organize a traditional Christmas lenten dinner.

Ingredients:

• Pumpkin - 1 kg.
• Sugar - 1 tbsp
• White wine vinegar- 125 ml.
• Olive oil - 3 tbsp.
• Garlic - 1 clove
• Black pepper, a pinch of ground cinnamon
• A handful of fresh mint leaves

Cooking:

1. Peel the pumpkin from the peel and seeds, cut the pulp into long oblong slices 1 cm thick, cut each slice in half.
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, fry the pumpkin with peeled garlic for 3 minutes. Once the garlic has darkened, remove it. Remove skillet from heat, carefully drain excess fat.
3. Sprinkle pumpkin with sugar and cinnamon, mix well, pour in vinegar, add mint greens and pepper to taste.

Cover with lid and let steep for at least 15 minutes. Can be served both cold and hot.

Bon appetit!

Well, now let's look at what you can cook on Christmas Day for breaking the fast. Of course, first of all we will consider the preparation of geese and ducks. Some different options we prepared for New Year.

13. Christmas goose and duck

Today I will try to tell and show step by step how to cook geese and ducks for the New Year and Christmas. Since their preparation for two neighboring holidays does not differ from each other. There are recipes for geese baked whole in the oven and pieces in a pan and duck in the oven. Please watch and repeat.

Another goose recipe.

14. Video - Christmas goose

15. Pork in orange marinade

Ingredients:

• Pork ham - 3 kg.
• Oranges - 4 pcs.
• Apple - 1 pc.
• Honey - 1 cup
• Muscat wine - 1 glass
• White dry wine- 1 glass
• Water - 1 glass
• Cinnamon - 2 sticks
• Onion - 3-4 pcs.
• Garlic - 2 cloves
• Olive oil - 4 tbsp. l.
• Rosemary - 1 tbsp. l.
• Salt pepper

Cooking:

1. Rinse the meat, salt and pepper.
2. In a large bowl, mix the juice of 2 oranges, honey, wine, cinnamon, chopped onion, minced garlic, rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Put the pork in this marinade, cover with a film and leave for a day in the refrigerator. Turn the meat from time to time in the marinade so that it marinates evenly.
4. The next day, take the meat out of the marinade, put it in a fireproof dish, pour the marinade over it and add water. Arrange slices of 2 oranges and an apple on top.
5. Close the bowl with foil. Bake in the oven at 180 C for 3 hours. Turn meat over from time to time and baste with marinade.

When almost done, remove the foil and let the meat brown.

Bon appetit!

We haven't cooked very cold dishes. Let's take a look at the fish.

16. Fish aspic

Another absolutely New Year's dish, this is filler. From what they just don’t make it, and from various meat poultry, and from beef, especially offal, pork, rabbit meat. Our aspic is made mainly from fish.

17. Fish baked in the oven in puff pastry and fish in batter

18. Video - Beef jelly

19

19. Aspic of beef, pork and chicken meat

Ingredients:

• Pork knuckle - 1 pc.
• Chicken legs - 2 pcs.
• A little beef - 500-600 g.
• Onion, Bay leaf, pepper, salt, spices

Cooking:

1. Put all the meat in a saucepan, about 5 liters, and fill it with water. We don't cook.

2. Just leave it in water for 1.5-2 hours. After a couple of hours, the blood remaining in the meat will be released into the water. You will see the water turns red.

3. We drain this water, wash the meat and fill it again clean water. Let's cook. Add onions, carrots, bay leaf.

4. Bring to a boil and remove the foam so that the surface of the water is clean. Usually remove with a spoon with holes. Unfortunately it was not available. After the foam has been removed, close the lid and leave to cook for 3.5 - 5 hours. (As I have said more than once in my recipes, the cooking time depends on many factors: what kind of stove, what kind of meat, what kind of water, etc.) So check. The meat should separate freely from the bones.

5. After 3.5 - 5 hours, half of the water boiled away. We only added half a liter of water once.

6. Remove the meat from the broth, and add garlic to taste, salt, pepper to the broth.

7. Add chopped parsley and dill. Bring almost to a boil, but do not boil. Mix well and leave to stand on a warm stove.

8. We take up the meat. The meat is already well cooked.

9. Separate from the bones and cut into small pieces.

10. Mix all types of meat, salt, pepper, mix well.

11. In a deep cup, put a few sliced ​​\u200b\u200bround carrots

12. Add greens.

13. Put the meat on top

14. and fill with broth. We put it in the refrigerator overnight and in the morning your jelly is ready.

Meaty, tasty, fragrant.

Bon appetit!

20. Different pies for Christmas

I have already released several recipes for making pies. This is very delicious pies and not very complicated recipes. We prepared them for the New Year, but not all. We take and prepare for Christmas.

21. Video - Delicious Christmas Turkey