EntranceWhy 12 dishes on the Christmas table.
On Christmas night from January 6 to 7, a festive Divine Liturgy is celebrated. On the very day of the Christmas holiday, believers break their fast (they do not eat lean, but fast food). The twelve following days after Christmas are called holy days, or Christmas time. This is probably why, according to legend, there should be 12 dishes on the Christmas table. Some of them passed to the morning of January 7 from Christmas Eve - these are kutya and zvar. The rest, modest, dishes were waiting in the wings.
Christmas Eve: First Star
The holiday begins on the evening of January 6 - Christmas Eve comes. According to church rules and folk tradition, on this day they do not eat until the first star appears in the sky - in remembrance of the Bethlehem star, which showed the Magi the way to the place of the Nativity of Christ.
They also say that Christmas is not celebrated alone - it is a family holiday. It was customary to gather either with parents, or with the whole large family at the eldest in the family. Before the first star, the hostess had to prepare several lenten obligatory Christmas dishes. The main items in this menu were kutya, or sochivo, and vzvar (uzvar).
Sochivo, or Kutya
An indispensable dish, without which neither Christmas nor Easter was celebrated in pre-revolutionary Russia. Christmas Eve - from Sochiva, or Kuteinik - from Kutia, as they called the day before Christmas. And all of it passed in anticipation of the miracle of birth. It was believed that the richer and tastier the sochivo, the more fruitful the next year would be.
The products from which kutya was prepared were endowed with special significance: grain was considered a symbol of resurrection to life, honey was a symbol of health and a prosperous (sweet) life, and poppy promised prosperity in the family.
Pre-revolutionary writer A.A. Korinfsky wrote: “In the evening, on the eve of the Nativity of Christ, Russian people who invariably adhere to the old pious customs do not break the fast: according to the Church Charter, only sochivo is allowed to eat at this time. coming from November 15 (28) until the cheerful joyful Christmas time.
However, wheat was not always the basis of kutya. In the southern regions of Russia, rice was more often cooked. However, nuts, honey and dried fruits remained an unchanged part of the recipe.
Traditional Sochi Recipe
wheat grains - one glass,
poppy - 100 g,
purified walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews - 100 g,
honey - 3 tablespoons,
dried fruits.
Crush the grains in a wooden mortar, adding a little warm water so that the wheat shell comes off. Then the kernel must be separated from the husk, sifted and washed. Boil loose lean porridge in water, adding 2-3 cups of water to the cereal.
Grind the poppy seeds until poppy milk is obtained, add honey to it, mix and put in wheat porridge. At the very end, add crushed nuts and dried fruits steamed with boiling water.
Rice juice
rice - 1 cup,
raisins - 50 g,
prunes - 50 g,
dried apricots - 50 g,
almonds or walnuts - 50 g,
honey - three tablespoons
Rinse rice, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Drain in a colander and rinse again with cold water. Then pour 1.5 cups cold water and cook until tender without removing the lid. Steam dried fruits in hot water (15-20 minutes).
Cut prunes and dried apricots. Crush the almonds. If all the water has not boiled away, it should be drained, the rice should be cooled. Add dried fruits, honey and nuts to the rice.
blast
Second obligatory dish christmas table. A broth was prepared from dried fruits, but honey was added instead of sugar. The most popular was apple broth with the addition of dried or soaked cranberries, lingonberries or raspberries.
In the south of Russia, smoked pear was always added to the drink. Mint, oregano, currant leaf, thyme and other fragrant herbs are often added. It is not necessary to boil the broth: it is enough to pour fruit with boiling water and leave to infuse. A thermos is perfect for this purpose. Often juicy is diluted with a boil and eaten in the form of liquid sweet porridge.
Lean pancakes
Christmas Eve was not complete without Lenten dishes. But if kutya and vzvar were obligatory, then pancakes, vinaigrette, cabbage rolls, fish pies, vegetable stews or kashi remained welcome guests on the last day of fasting. Among this menu, pancakes were common. They wonderfully complemented boiled fish or caviar, jam or honey. Only they were made without milk and butter. For example, on potato broth or mineral water.
The vinaigrette
Lenten vinaigrette or with herring was served very often on Christmas Eve. The recipe is simple, but the dish turns out tasty and inexpensive, which made it possible to cook it in poor families. And in the houses of the wealthy, sturgeon or white fish could be added to the Christmas vinaigrette.
Christmas goose with sauerkraut
Christmas: a plentiful break
When the night passes and after the service the family returns to the house, the long-awaited Christmas holiday comes. The post is left behind, and on the table appear meat dishes, milk and butter pies, oily fish and sumptuous desserts.
It was believed that a baked goose (or other bird) and pork dishes should be an indispensable attribute of the Christmas meal. Of course, on the eve of Christmas, millions of geese, ducks, turkeys and chickens were brought to the country's bazaars.
"Christmas in Moscow was felt for a long time - a cheerful, business hustle. They just started talking in Filippovka, on November 14, for the Christmas post, and already at the freight stations, especially in Rogozhskaya, geese cackle day and night - "goose trains", to Germany: before it was, to the glaciers-wagons, a live load. Do not believe it - hundreds of trains! A goose went through Moscow - from Kozlov, Tambov, Kursk, Saratov, Samara ... I don’t remember Poltava, Poland, Lithuania, Volyn: the paths from there are different. And the duck , and a chicken, and a turkey, and a black grouse ... capercaillie and hazel grouse, bacon-brisket, and ... - what the soul only requires for Christmas, "wrote Ivan Shmelev.
little goose,
cabbage - 800 g,
bulbs - 4 pcs.,
cumin - 0.5 tbsp.,
salt,
oil.
If the carcass is frozen, let the goose lie down in the refrigerator for a day. Then wash the goose, rub it inside and out with salt and cumin. If possible, you can boil the goose in red wine - whole, about 40 minutes. Wine will give the bird softness.
Stew sauerkraut with oil and onions in a saucepan, covered. Stuff the goose with this cabbage and fry on a baking sheet, pouring a little broth on it and pouring it over the goose. Then goose fat will be melted - you will water it.
Cold pig with horseradish
Pig on the table
No less traditional product on the Christmas table was pork. According to legend, when Jesus was born, in the manger all the animals joyfully met the divine baby - except for the pig. She grunted annoyingly and prevented the baby from sleeping. That is why, as a punishment, the pig became an indispensable dish of the Christmas table.
Even during Lent, they began to bring to the capitals, to central fairs, whole carts with pork - there were huge carcasses, and barrels of corned beef, and suckling pigs. “Bad, bad, but two or three carcasses of pigs are necessary, and black piglets, fry with porridge, three dozen, and white ones, for aspic, moloshnichki, two dozen, so that there is enough for plots,” wrote Ivan Shmelev in “The Summer of the Lord”.
Many dishes were prepared from pork, but in every wealthy house the table was decorated with a suckling pig with porridge or cold with horseradish.
Recipe from Ekaterina Avdeeva's book "Handbook of Russian experienced hostess"It's simple: boil the whole pig in salt water with fragrant herbs - thyme, dill - and onions. Then cut into pieces and pour over horseradish with sour cream. Serve cold.
Pork belly stuffed with cabbage and apples
In the old days, porridge was served with pork feet, but you can make pork belly with cabbage and apples for buckwheat porridge. It will turn out very juicy.
Pork belly - 800 g,
cabbage - 400 g,
apples - 5 pcs.,
butter- 1 tbsp.,
bulb - 1 pc.,
salt and pepper.
Chop fresh cabbage, salt, squeeze. Add finely chopped cabbage sour apples, oil, mix. pork belly wash, chop the bones in several places, cut a large hole between the bones and meat with a knife.
Put the prepared minced meat there, sew it up, place it on a frying pan or baking sheet, sprinkle with finely chopped onion, add 3 tablespoons of water and fry in an oven heated to 200 ° C until cooked. Serve with crumbly buckwheat porridge.
Jellied pig and rooster
Rinse the knuckle and legs of the piglet well and cut into pieces. Put in a saucepan, pour cold water so that it covers the meat by a few centimeters, boil and remove the foam. After an hour, add the carcass of the rooster.
Boil aspic over very low heat for 6-8 hours, so that the water boils away to half the volume. 20 minutes before the end of cooking, add bay leaf, peppercorns and salt to taste to the broth. Remove the meat from the broth, separate from the bones and cut into pieces. Strain the broth. Pour chopped garlic on the bottom of the dish, lay out the meat, pour in the broth, mix gently with a spoon and refrigerate until it hardens.
Rye pie with fish
For test:
rye flour - 1 cup,
wheat flour - 1 cup,
milk - 1 glass,
dry yeast - 1 tsp,
sugar - 2 tsp,
salt - 1 tsp,
vegetable oil - 1 tbsp. l.
For filling:
pikeperch fillet - 500 g,
mussels, peeled - 200 g,
onion - 1 pc.,
carrots - 1 pc.,
brine pickles- 500 ml,
vegetable oil- 2 tablespoons,
dill - 1 bunch,
salt and white pepper taste.
We knead the dough, for which 1 tsp. dry yeast pour 5 tsp. warm water, let stand for swelling for 10-15 minutes. Sifting wheat and rye flour, pour in vegetable oil, milk room temperature, add sugar and salt, add yeast, knead.
Let the dough rise in a warm place. The dough should rise twice and be folded twice. We divide it into 2 parts.
For the filling in cucumber brine, boil the mussels and fish, put them in a colander. Peel and finely chop the onion and carrot. In a frying pan, fry vegetables with fish and mussels. Let's salt and pepper. Turn off, add chopped dill. Form a cake in a baking sheet, brush the top with egg yolk and bake for 50 minutes at 170°C.
ginger pie
butter - 100 g + another piece for lubrication,
dark unrefined cane sugar - 100 g,
flour with baking powder - 175 g,
ground ginger - 4 tsp,
light molasses - 175 g,
ginger wine - 3 tablespoons,
eggs of any size, can be beaten - 2 pcs.,
finely grated fresh ginger the size of a hazelnut
finely chopped canned ginger - 150 g,
powdered sugar - 75 g,
ginger root for decoration - 1 pc.
Preheat oven to 160°C, grease a 23 cm baking dish. Beat butter and sugar with a pinch of salt until the mixture is fluffy. Sift flour and ground ginger together.
Pour in light molasses (for convenience, use a spoon pre-lubricated with oil and a silicone kitchen spatula), 1 tbsp. wine and mix everything together. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then gradually add the flour.
Mix everything with fresh and canned ginger. Spoon the resulting mixture into a baking dish. Level the surface and bake for about 50-60 minutes, until the dough sticks to the surface of a wooden skewer placed in the middle of the pie. Leave the cake to cool in the mold. After the cake has cooled completely, make the frosting by mixing powdered sugar and the remaining ginger wine, and drizzle over the top of the pie. Cut the ginger root into thin pieces and decorate the cake.
Russian custard soufflé
any berries - 500 g,
water - ½ cup,
sugar - 2 cups,
egg whites - 5 pcs.
Make a puree from the berries, add water and boil. Add sugar (about the same amount as the puree). Beat egg whites into stiff foam. Add to puree. Put the puree in baking dishes, put for 30 minutes in an oven heated to 170 degrees.
Bon appetit!
- such a name for Christmas dinner is more familiar to our parents - has its own meaning. And although almost all modern families have their own way of preparing festive feast, many continue to observe the traditions that have been passed down to them from generation to generation. Perhaps listing 12 dishes for Christmas that our ancestors prepared can inspire you to decide whether.
Before serving 12 Christmas dishes, the hostess put garlic cloves under the tablecloth. He had to drive away evil spirits. All family members should be at home on Christmas Eve. It was obligatory for everyone to try all 12 dishes on the table (although).
The wife served dishes on the table, and everyone else during dinner could not speak, get up and drink water, or not want to drink during the harvest. If anyone sneezed, it was fortunate. Everyone ate from the same bowl and drank from the same cup - it was believed that as long as they did this, there would be love and unity in the house. In some villages, after dinner, spoons were tied together so that the whole family would stick together for the next year.
You couldn't borrow money to cook Christmas dinner. The hostess proceeded from the stocks that were at home. The family thanked the past year and asked all the forces of nature for help and productivity next year. Holy evening was not a demonstration of a fat wallet, on this day the main wealth of the family was manifested in the coherence of work with and respect for each other.
Kutya
Bread
The hostess paid special attention to bread, rolls and pies - they are also included in the 12 Christmas dishes. A separate day was dedicated to baking Christmas bread. Bread was a symbol of harvest and life. There was a tradition to bake symbols in bread that would bring good luck, wealth and protect against bad luck: garlic, peas, small coins, etc. Now you can make this dish on Holy evening,. See the recipe for lean bread for Christmas below on this page.
The vinaigrette
Among the 12 Christmas dishes should be cold salads, which can be an alternative to the side dish. Therefore, many prefer to prepare vinaigrette from boiled beets, potatoes, beans, carrots, as well as sauerkraut or pickles. And, of course, add green onions or onions there. More recently, the site published - perhaps the most versatile dish, especially for Lenten table.
Uzvar
If you want to take into account all the dishes that are prepared for Christmas, then we recommend that you do not skip the uzvar - no carbonated or other ready-made drinks can replace it. A drink that would be suitable for simply does not exist. In order to prepare uzvar, housewives always used dried apples and pears, and wild fruits were especially valued. Our ancestors believed that these fruits contain solar energy.
To ripen an apple or pear, and then dry in the sun, they needed warm sunlight. Perhaps in December and January, when the days are the shortest of the year, this drink served as an invocation to the Sun. With the help of it, our ancestors asked the luminary for additional strength and sunlight in their lives. Therefore, you definitely should know which ones are.
Borscht with ears
Borscht is also among the Christmas dishes that you can cook at home. Previously, the taste of borscht was sour, as its main component was kvass. And although for several centuries the recipe for borscht has changed - beans were added to cabbage, carrots and parsley, and in the 19th century - tomatoes. The traditional Christmas borscht consists of beet kvass, red beets, water and mushroom broth for taste. By the way, borsch can be among the Lenten Christmas dishes, because it is often cooked without meat. And we have a popular material in which are collected - for every taste and "post".
Pickles
When wondering what dishes are prepared for Christmas, do not forget to put pickles on the festive table. We can say that these are light Christmas meatless dishes that complement any food. If you have been preserving and stocking since the summer, then there should be no problems.
cabbage rolls
Cabbage rolls are one of the most favorite 12 Christmas dishes for many Ukrainians. AT cabbage leaves wrapped wheat, buckwheat or rice porridge, as well as grated potatoes with all kinds of additives. Cabbage leaves symbolize the continuation of the family (no wonder children were "found" in cabbage). Cabbage rolls were also considered a wedding dish, as their appearance remotely resembled pigeons. Look at wonderful recipe Transcarpathian cabbage rolls from WANT.ua
Fish
For many, Christmas dishes are associated not with red meat, but with fish. It is rarely bought New Year, but on Christmas Eve they often offer for family and guests. in different options- fried, baked with vegetables, and in some houses it is customary to make jellied fish in advance.
Vareniki
Vareniki or boiled pies can be found in Italian, Chinese, Lithuanian and Slavic cuisine. Who came up with the idea of making them first? It is unlikely that we will ever know about it. AT Ukrainian cuisine Dumplings were considered a festive dish and were prepared for big holidays, such as Christmas, and on Sundays.
Puffy dumplings filled with stuffing also symbolized the continuation of the family. And the dishes for Holy evening were also always replenished. The most difficult to cook, see the most simple recipes preparing a dough with which you do not have to mess around for a long time.
Cabbage with peas
Cabbage with peas is not often seen among the 12 dishes for Holy Evening among modern Ukrainians, although 2-3 generations ago, more than one holiday of the autumn-winter period could not do without it. Cabbage with peas for Christmas is a cross between yushka and which is very healthy.
Everyone knows that the main Christmas delicacy is sochivo. However, few people know that in fact there should be exactly 12 dishes on the table. Moreover, each of them has its own symbolic meaning. What are these dishes?
Sochivo (or Kutya)
It is from the name of this dish that the word denoting Christmas Eve, that is, Christmas Eve, came. Sochivo is made from cereals (usually millet or rice) with the addition of honey, raisins, nuts, and poppy seeds. Each ingredient has a specific meaning. Groats symbolize rebirth, honey - health and happiness, nuts and poppy seeds - prosperity.
Uzvar
Uzvar is a compote of dried fruits and berries. Traditionally, honey and herbs (for example, mint or currant leaf) are added to the uzvar. This drink is a kind of personification of living water on the Christmas table.
Borscht (or cabbage)
Due to the fact that fasting ends only on January 7, on Christmas Eve only lenten dishes are put on the table. Therefore, Christmas borscht is cooked without meat. However, you can add mushrooms or dough ears to the soup, which are miniature dumplings. Traditional cabbage is cooked from fresh or sauerkraut with the addition of millet.
Vareniki
Dumplings are a symbol of prosperity and heavenly life. Their filling can be very diverse: cabbage, potatoes, mushrooms, and even dried fruits or poppy seeds. Sweet dumplings are best served with honey, and salty dumplings are best served with fried onions.
The vinaigrette
Vinaigrette is one of the most favorite Lenten dishes. The main components of the vinaigrette are boiled beets, potatoes (or beans), pickles, green pea and bow. Vegetable oil is used for dressing.
cabbage rolls
Mushrooms, rice with carrots, buckwheat with onions, millet and all kinds of vegetables can serve as fillings for lean cabbage rolls. Cabbage rolls, already due to their name, like the dove, symbolize harmony, peace and love.
Fish
Fish should certainly be on any table on Christmas Eve. After all, the fish is one of the symbols of Jesus Christ. Fish is welcome in any form: fried, baked, boiled or as a filling for pies.
Pancakes
Despite the fact that today pancakes are traditional dish during Maslenitsa, in Russia they were baked on almost all holidays. On Christmas Eve, pancakes are made without the addition of milk and butter. However, honey, jam, caviar or fish perfectly diversify their taste.
Patties
Pies in a mandatory order should be located on the Christmas table near the owner of the house. The fact is that baking symbolizes male energy. At Christmas, pies and pies are stuffed with cabbage, mushrooms, potatoes or porridge.
Orthodox Christmas is considered a bright and important day in the life of every Christian. Since the holiday itself is preceded by a long 40-day fast, the day of January 7 was awaited with special impatience and was met with a flourish. In addition to the fact that it is customary to lay a rich table on Christmas Day, the evening before the holiday was also given great importance. The number of dishes on Christmas Eve The evening before Christmas is considered magical and magical by the people. The air itself is saturated with wonder, especially with the onset of darkness and the appearance of stars in the sky. It is at this moment that you should sit down at the table for dinner. According to popular belief, there should be 12 dishes on the table, according to the number of apostles sitting at the Supper. It is believed that the very custom of preparing dinner came from this Supper, and therefore every apostle should be treated. Dishes should be fasting, since the end of the period of abstinence falls on January 7 - the feast of the Nativity of Christ. On this day, you can eat everything, including fast food. However, the number of dishes on the table should also be equal to twelve, since it is believed that the Lord himself will be the guest in the dwelling on this day, and with him the twelve apostles. So the tradition began to put a treat on each of them. Meeting heavenly guests on Christmas Day is an ancient beautiful tradition that they still try to observe today. In some regions, a well-known tradition has a slightly different interpretation: the obligatory number of dishes on the Christmas table is equal to the number of months of the coming year. In order for the year to pass safely, and there was always something to eat on the table, it was necessary to appease each month of the year. The Christmas holiday is considered a magical day with open skies, therefore, the energy of the day fully contributes to the implementation of rites and rituals for the upcoming well-being. Twelve dishes are traditionally put on the pre-holiday Supper and the Christmas table - for the twelve months of the year. According to the established belief, every month, from January to December, they receive their treat for festive table, for this they will also treat hospitable hosts when their time comes to host. Thanks to this rite, they tried to ensure their well-being for the whole year. In addition, the hosts themselves should have eaten a little of each dish in order to share the meal with the "guests". The main dishes of the festive menu The main treat of the pre-holiday evening and the Christmas table are two dishes - kutya and uzvar. The first treat was traditionally prepared from cereals with the addition of fruits, nuts and honey. Uzvar was cooked from dried fruits with the addition of honey. In order for the hostess to be able to treat herself with other household members, without being distracted by service, festive dishes It was customary to serve cold. Twelve cold dishes, and on the eve of the holiday also fasting, were considered an obligatory attribute of the eve of the holiday Supper and Christmas dinner. At the same time, uzvar and kutia were considered the main dishes and were placed at the head of the table.