The best recipes for Christmas dishes and how many items should be on the holiday menu

Recipes for dishes prepared for the Christmas holiday must meet certain requirements. There are traditions that housewives have observed from time immemorial; they should not be violated. But you can diversify your holiday meal by using unusual ingredients, they will help change the taste of the food. How to surprise guests and celebrate the holiday at a delicious table?

How many dishes should be on the Christmas table?

Christmas is celebrated with family, and this is a tradition that should not be broken. There are other customs regarding the festive table. As a rule, housewives prepare 12 traditional dishes, place them on the table and call family members. The meal begins when the first star appears in the sky. The Bible lists 12 apostles, which means there should be a dozen dishes on the table. This is a rule that is strictly followed, and the food must be lean.

Attention! It is believed that Christmastide has a “master and hostess” - these are prepared dishes that must certainly be present on the festive table. These are: uzvar and kutya. They start the meal with them. Religious people believe that if Christmas is celebrated correctly, the next year will be successful.

12 Traditional Lenten Dishes for Christmas

The following dishes are prepared according to the number of apostles:

1. In Russia, it is customary to start a meal with kutya; it is placed at the head of the table. Other dishes are started after all family members have tasted kutya. It can be made from pearl barley, rice or wheat, with the addition of honey and raisins.
2. Uzvar is a thick compote made from dried fruits. He is considered the host of the Christmas meal. It is not difficult to prepare such a dish if you follow the recipe strictly.
3. You can diversify the holiday menu with baked apples - they act as a dessert, their preparation does not take much time.
4. Since the dishes should be lean, you can improvise a little and put a vinaigrette on the table.This salad is well known, and its recipe is suitable for both experienced and novice housewives.
5. It is impossible to imagine a table without a hot dish, especially if it is festive, for this reason we offer to please your guests and loved ones with Lenten borscht. It is cooked in vegetable broth without using meat.
6. The key dish on the table will be baked fish. It could be salmon, sockeye salmon or pink salmon. You can bake the fish in the oven, sprinkling it with grated cheese and garnishing with herbs.
7. As a snack, you should use lavash baked with vegetables. Its preparation does not take much time, just chop the vegetables (choose them to taste). Then they wrap it in pita bread and put it in the oven.
8. It is worth serving sweets made from fruits. Nuts and dried fruits are crushed, and then sweets are made from the resulting mass (formed yourself).
9. Baked potato. An interesting dish that will decorate the Lenten table. The vegetable is cooked in the oven; you can add sour cream, cheese or bake it with avocado.
10. Dumplings with cherries. Mentioned in the work of Nikolai Gogol, they were placed on the table in the story “The Night Before Christmas”. In the classic recipe, dumplings have a thin dough and a liquid filling.
11. Stuffed cabbage rolls with champignons. If you don’t have any culinary skills, you can make lazy cabbage rolls by chopping cabbage, adding champignons and rice.
12. Warm salad with rice and beans. It is not necessary to use green beans during the cooking process. Canned will also work. Rice is cooked as usual, other ingredients are added to it: olives, onions and beans. The salad is served warm.

What can you serve on the table during the Christmas holidays?

Preparing dishes for guests is not difficult, the main thing is to put in a little effort and effort. On Christmas Eve you can eat not only vegetables and fruits. The festive table will be decorated with baked game and egg pie. Let's find out how to cook them correctly, according to what recipe.

Christmas goose and duck

This is a Russian dish; any game can be used to create it. Some people prefer chicken. Others choose turkey. But let's take a look at the classic recipe:

• the game is washed under running water;
• the carcass is cleaned of excess skin;
• rub with spices, add lemon juice to taste;
• you can use a mixture of olive oil, pepper and salt, as well as chopped garlic;
• It will take about 45-60 minutes to cook the duck or goose, bake in the oven at a temperature of 200 degrees.

If this is too long, then the carcass is cut up, placed on a baking sheet in parts and baked in the oven for at least half an hour.

Christmas guinea fowl

This dish is difficult to prepare, but its taste will surprise and delight. For preparation you will need various ingredients: pumpkin, tangerines, lemon juice, guinea fowl, rosemary, spices. Cooking method:

1. The guinea fowl is washed and cleaned.
2. Then the chestnuts are scalded with boiling water and fried in a frying pan.
3. They put the carcass in the oven and stuff it with tangerines.
4. At this time, the pumpkin is cut into slices.
5. Prepare the glaze from lemon juice and sugar.
6. After an hour, the guinea fowl is removed from the oven.
7. Place the pumpkin on a baking sheet.
8. Cover the carcass with foil and keep it in the oven for another hour at 160 degrees.
9. Then pour over the previously prepared glaze and add chestnuts.

Goose in foil

Let's prepare a goose with apples, it will become a real table decoration:

• make a marinade of garlic, orange juice, rosemary and olive oil;
• rub a well-washed goose with it;
• place the carcass in a baking bag and leave it in the refrigerator overnight;
• In the morning, wash the apples, cut them into slices, remove the seeds;
• stuff the carcass with apples, and then put it in the oven, after wrapping it in foil.

Christmas cupcake

We suggest using a ready-made cake mix. The filling for the baking will be dried fruits - they are washed and ground in a blender. Then they wrap it in prepared dough. Sprinkle the top of the cake with powdered sugar. It is recommended to use as additional ingredients: orange juice and zest, rosemary sprigs.

Christmas Ring Pie

Made from chicken and eggs. A delicious dish that will decorate the holiday table:

1. Defrost puff pastry.
2. Peel the onions, carrots and garlic, chop them and fry them in a frying pan until half cooked.
3. The fillet is ground using a meat grinder and mixed with boiled eggs.
4. The filling is rolled into puff pastry and the roll is placed in the oven.

You can form a ring out of the dough, but do not chop the eggs, place them entirely on the dough.

Christmas Stollen

The complex recipe for this sweet pie requires the preparation of yeast dough. The dough is set for 2 hours. 6 hours before milking, the dried fruits are poured with rum, then they are sent to a colander.

Stollen is prepared at a temperature of 170 degrees in the oven.

Cerro – “Christmas Log”

I'll have to make a sponge cake. Then make a cream from milk, vanilla sugar, powder and cocoa powder. Roll the biscuit into a roll, remove the paper, then unfold it, holding the edges, then grease it with cream, sprinkle grated chocolate on top, roll the “log” into a roll.

Snack cake “Christmas Light”

Prepared like an open puff pastry pie. The appetizer is made separately - vegetables and liver are fried in a frying pan (make according to your favorite recipe). Then place the pre-prepared filling on the dough and bake the pie in the oven for 30 minutes. Use dill, herbs, tomatoes and cucumbers as decorations.

Christmas duck with mushrooms and nuts

Champignons and nuts are fried with onions and carrots in a frying pan. Then the resulting mixture is used as a filling. The duck is placed in the oven for an hour. Before serving, sprinkle with lemon juice or balsamic vinegar and bake for another 40 minutes.

Gingerbread "Arkhangelsk roe"

A very interesting delicacy that is prepared using caramel. It is added to the dough, then the layer is rolled out and given the desired shape using molds. Roe deer are decorated with cranberries or lingonberries. The dough for gingerbread is traditional, according to the classic recipe.

Nut and poppy seed roll

The recipe is simple. Take puff pastry, roll it out into a layer, and before doing this mix poppy seeds with walnuts or other nuts. Distribute the filling evenly and twist the dough. Brush with egg white and place in the oven. You can use honey when preparing the filling. Sprinkle powder on top of the roll. Cinnamon or vanilla will add aroma to baked goods.

Fish with ginger sauce

We suggest grinding ginger root, mixing it with lemon juice and thyme. Rub this mixture onto fish (any fish will do). Place the onion into rings and place in the oven for 40 minutes. Then decorate the dish with sprigs of herbs and serve.

Stuffed eggplants in the oven

Prepare a mixture of garlic and olive oil, rub it on eggplants cut lengthwise. Vegetables are fried in a frying pan until half cooked.Then put it in the oven for 10-15 minutes. The appetizer will be very spicy.

Apples baked with honey and nuts

Apples are baked in the oven, then honey and nuts are applied to them as a glaze. You can use another recipe. A mixture of honey and chopped nuts is placed inside the peeled fruits. The apples are baked in the oven until fully cooked, 10-15 minutes is enough.

Spiced pumpkin

An exceptional recipe that involves peeling the vegetable from seeds and internal contents. You can cut the pumpkin or bake it whole. If you choose the first option, then melt the honey and pour over the vegetable slices. You can use caramel.

When you decide to surprise your guests, don’t be afraid to experiment. Spices and herbs will help diversify the table, give dishes a new taste, and surprise with their aroma.