Christmas is the most beautiful, mysterious and magical holiday of the year. Many traditions and signs are associated with this holiday. Christmas Eve is called Holy Evening. Every housewife tries to set the table with as many treats as possible.

Traditionally, all dishes for Christmas must be prepared before the evening of January 6th. After the first star appears in the sky, the holiday begins. According to Orthodoxy, it is necessary that there are 12 dishes on the table. All dishes must be lean. Each housewife decides what dishes to prepare for Christmas, but the main and obligatory dish of this holiday is kutia. There is also a recommended list of delicious dishes that will delight any member of the household or house guest, and on Holy Evening there can be a lot of guests.

In the evening, according to tradition, it is necessary to have dinner with Lenten dishes, and the Christmas meal may include meat dishes, but it, like the evening meal, must begin with kutya.

What's being prepared on January 6

As is already known, there should be 12 dishes on the table, according to the number of apostles. It is customary to cover the table with a white tablecloth. You need to put some hay under the tablecloth. Place Christmas juice in the center, into which you need to stick a lit candle. Dinner began after the first star appeared in the sky. Children love this moment very much; they like to wait for a miracle to appear in the sky. The most important dish is kutia. Kutia is a cooked porridge made from whole wheat grains. The finished porridge is poured with honey water or sugar syrup and nuts, poppy seeds, dried fruits, preserves, and jams are added to it. Millet can be replaced with rice. This food is traditional and no Christmas Eve should be without it.

There are many recipes for preparing this ritual dish. Experienced housewives have their own family recipes for preparing this porridge, passed down from generation to generation. Young housewives can try new recipes, of which there are now a great many, thanks to the Internet.

Traditional Christmas sochivo

1 cup whole wheat,
3 glasses of water,
80 grams of honey,
50 grams of raisins,
100 grams of poppy seeds.

Before cooking, wheat must be washed, sorted and poured with boiling water. Drain the water and place the wheat in the pan in which the kutia will be cooked. Cook until cooked until the water has evaporated. Kutya cooks like porridge.

The poppy seed needs to be steamed by pouring boiling water over it. If desired, it can be crushed in a mortar. You can also pass poppy seeds through a meat grinder.

In addition to raisins, you can add various candied fruits, nuts, pieces of chocolate, and halva to kutya. You can season the kutya with a tablespoon of rum. Improvise. Choose ingredients according to your taste, desire and availability.

Uzvar

Traditionally, the uzvar is considered the master of the Christmas table. It is always prepared paired with kutia. Uzvar is an ancient drink that can give strength, energy, and saturate the body with vitamins and microelements. Uzvar improves the functioning of the heart, gastrointestinal tract and has a beneficial effect on the nervous system.

Preparation:

You need to take 200 grams of drying. These can be apples, apricots, pears, prunes, raisins. The washed dryer is poured with three liters of water and brought to a boil. Cook the uzvar over low heat for approximately 15 minutes. Then, if desired, you can add prunes, cherries, raisins and boil for another 15 minutes. After this, honey is added to the uzvar, covered with a lid and left to infuse for 2-3 hours. Uzvar is served chilled.

Lenten borscht with beans

Borscht is a favorite dish in Russia. Traditionally, borscht is a daily dish, but it’s hard to imagine Christmas Eve without it. Since it is difficult to prepare 12 dishes at once, borscht can be prepared in advance, this will only make its taste richer and brighter.

Borscht can be prepared with beans, sprat, beetroot, and mushrooms. It all depends on the preferences of the family and the availability of products from the hostess.

Preparation:

Boil a glass of beans until tender. Or take ready-made canned beans.

Put 3.5 liters of water on the fire (you can take the water in which the beans were cooked). After boiling, add diced potatoes (4-5 tubers) to the water.

Meanwhile, prepare the roast. Grate 1 large carrot, cut one onion into cubes and saute it in a frying pan until golden brown. Sunflower oil must be used for frying.

Take 2 medium-sized beetroot. Beetroot must be grated. Fry one beetroot along with onions and carrots, throw the second one to cook in a pan with potatoes and beans. At the end of frying, add half a liter of tomato juice, or 100 grams of tomato paste.

At the end of cooking the vegetables, add half a head of shredded white cabbage to the pan. The cabbage should boil. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add spices and salt to the borscht to taste. If necessary, citric acid or vinegar.

Dumplings

Dumplings or bread, a necessary addition to borscht. Pampushka is a round-shaped and small-sized pastry. Dumplings are made from yeast dough. If you don’t have time to bake them, you can make do with bread or buy ready-made donuts in the store

Onion or garlic sauce for pampushki

It is customary to top pampushki with a special sauce, which makes them tastier.

Preparation of garlic sauce:

5 cloves of garlic;
3 tbsp. l boiled water;
2 tbsp. l. oils

Garlic is passed through a press and mixed with water and oil. If desired, you can add dill or parsley, as well as spices.

Making onion gravy:

2 onions are fried in a frying pan until tender, add 1 tbsp to the onion. l. flour. The onion and flour are fried for about a minute. Then add 2 tbsp. l. sour cream, 1 teaspoon of tomato paste, salt, spices. All this is fried for a couple more minutes. Then add water and simmer the onion sauce for 5 minutes.

Stuffed cabbage rolls with millet and mushrooms

We are all used to cabbage rolls with rice and minced meat. But cabbage rolls with millet and mushrooms are no less tasty. Stuffed cabbage rolls must be prepared in the traditional way, only rice and minced meat are replaced with boiled millet and fried mushrooms.

Fried fish

Fish is not only healthy, but also tasty, and since Holy Evening must be celebrated without meat dishes, fish is perfect. Fish must be fried in flour, as eggs are not allowed on January 6th.

Bread

Regardless of whether there are donuts on the table, there must also be bread on the table. Bread can be served white, black, with the addition of spices and bran.

Christmas Olivier

Russian cuisine is hard to imagine without Olivier. On Holy Evening it is necessary to cook it without sausage. This will not make its taste any worse. But on Christmas Day itself, Olivier can be served with sausage, boiled meat or chicken breast.

The vinaigrette

This vitamin salad brings many benefits to the body. All products in its composition can heal the body, strengthen it and fill it with energy. For the vinaigrette you will need boiled potatoes, beets, beans, and carrots. Fresh onion, sauerkraut, vegetable oil. You can replace the beans with green peas. The salad will also need to be salted and peppered.

Fruits

For dessert you can serve a variety of fresh fruits: apples, pears, grapes, tangerines, oranges.

Christmas dishes

On January 7, meat is allowed to be served on the table, so on this day you can serve chicken, duck, pork, and various meat salads.

Duck with apples

Traditionally, you can bake duck with apples in the oven. For this gutting, the duck is rubbed with a mixture of herbs, pepper, garlic and oil. Leave the duck to marinate for a couple of hours.

Mix apples, plums, quinces, prunes, season with wine and stuff.

The duck must be baked for approximately 3 -3.5 hours, basting with the resulting fat.

Dessert

Christmas cake is considered a traditional baked product. The cake can be prepared 1 - 2 months before Christmas and left to mature, or you can make a quick cake with tangerines

Recipe:

200 grams of flour;
4 eggs;
200 grams of sugar;
1 tsp. baking powder;
125 grams of butter;
150 grams of dried fruits;
2 tangerines;
vanilla.

Preparation:

Margarine at room temperature is whipped with sugar with a mixer. After that, eggs, sifted flour, vanilla, baking powder and dried fruits are gradually introduced into the resulting mass. Tangerines are soaked in butter for 2 minutes and added to the dough. The cake is baked for 1 hour in the oven preheated to 180 degrees.

The finished cake is sprinkled with powdered sugar and decorated with tangerines.

Bon appetit everyone and have a wonderful Christmas!

Read more about cooking kutia from rice for Christmas in this article.

1:502 1:507

In general, it would be more correct to call this holiday Holy Evening, since traditional dishes on the Christmas table are prepared specifically for pm January 6th. The most beautiful and mysterious traditions, rituals and signs are associated precisely with Holy Evening and Christmas Eve, that is, from January 6th to 7th.

1:1042

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, like a miracle, for the first star in the night sky. Young children perceive this tradition especially joyfully, constantly running in a crowd along with other children to look at the evening sky, and what a delight when the first Christmas star appears in the amazing evening January blue! As a child, it always seems so big and radiant that no matter what scientific points of view astronomers give about the January stars and planets, everyone knows for sure: this is exactly it, the star of Christmas.

1:2138

When the Christmas star appears in the sky, the whole family can sit down at the table and start celebrating.

1:196 1:201

Cover the Christmas table with a light tablecloth, and According to tradition, you need to put a little hay under it.

2:895

Placed in the center of the table candle in a container with wheat grains, lights up, 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 feel warm and comfortable.

2:1763

2:4

And now you can start Christmas dinner, which necessarily begins with Lenten kutya and uzvar– traditional dishes for Christmas.

2:271 2:276

3:780 3:785

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, Certainly. 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.

3:1653

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.

3:573

Kutya

3:596

4:1100

This is one of the main dishes at Christmas - the hostess of the Christmas dinner. 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.

4:1566

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).

4:813 4:818

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, place 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.

4:1884

4:4

Uzvar

4:26

5:534 5:539

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).

5:1143

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.

5:1917

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 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.

5:999 5:1004

Dumplings with potatoes, mushrooms, cabbage

5:1090

6:1598

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.

6:2195

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.

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 dressing of the finished dumplings.

Peel the potatoes and boil in salted water. Make a puree by adding frying, chopped dill, pepper and salt.

6:1073

Lenten dumplings with cabbage

6:1140 7:1644

7:4

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.

Cooking method: Finely chop the onion, grate the carrots, fry in vegetable oil and set aside a small part of the frying for later dressing of 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.

7:1109 7:1114

The vinaigrette

7:1142

8:1650

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.
We 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 chop finely.

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.

8:3133

8:4

Stuffed cabbage rolls

8:30

9:538

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.

9:3093 9:4

Fish aspic

9:46

10:554

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.

10:3607

10:4

Lenten borscht

10:39

11:547

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.

11:1296

Fried carp

11:1331

12:1839

Fish is especially useful because it contains a lot of phosphorus, which takes an active part in metabolism.

12:221

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).

12:792 12:797

Sauerkraut

12:840

13:1348

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.

13:5430

13:4

Stuffed peppers without meat

13:69

14:573

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.

14:2297 14:4

Mushroom pie

14:44

15:548

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.

15:3350

15:4

Apples baked with honey and nuts

15:82

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.

16:991

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:
shelled 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 large 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.

16:2171

16:4

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!

16:378 16:383

17:887 17:890 17:913

If you carefully study the history of the holiday from a culinary point of view, it turns out that housewives prepared two tables: a fast one for Christmas Eve and a rich one for Christmas morning.

On Christmas night from January 6 to 7, a festive Divine Liturgy is celebrated. On the day of Christmas itself, believers break their fast (they eat fast food, not fast food). The twelve days after Christmas are called holy days, or Christmastide. This is probably why, according to legend, there should be 12 dishes on the Christmas table. Some of them started on the morning of January 7 from Christmas Eve - this is kutia and vzvar. The remaining, modest dishes were waiting in the wings.

Christmas Eve: first star

The holiday begins on the evening of January 6 - Christmas Eve begins. According to church rules and folk tradition, on this day they do not eat until the first star appears in the sky - in memory of the Star of Bethlehem, 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 the parents, or with the whole large family at the eldest in the family. Before the first star, the housewife had to prepare several obligatory Lenten Christmas dishes. The main items on this menu were kutia, or sochivo, and vzvar (uzvar).

Sochivo, or Kutya

An indispensable dish, without which neither Christmas nor Easter were celebrated in pre-revolutionary Russia. Christmas Eve - from Sochiva, or kuteynik - from Kutya, was the name of the day before Christmas. And he spent the whole time waiting for the miracle of birth. It was believed that the richer and tastier the juice, the more productive the next year.

The products from which kutia was prepared were endowed with special meaning: grain was considered a symbol of resurrection to life, honey - a symbol of health and a prosperous (sweet) life, and poppy promised prosperity in the family.

Pre-revolutionary everyday life writer A.A. Corinthian wrote: “In the evening, on the eve of the Nativity of Christ, the Russian people, who invariably adhere to the old pious customs, do not break their fast: according to the Church Charter, they are allowed to eat only juice at this time. Breaking the fast is in the morning, after early mass; and until the morning they still stand in Filippovka Rus' , running from November 15 (28) until the merry joyful Christmastide."

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 a constant part of the recipe.

Traditional recipe sochiva

wheat grains - one glass,
poppy - 100 g,
peeled walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews - 100 g,
honey - 3 tbsp,
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 by sifting and washing. Cook crumbly lean porridge in water, adding 2-3 glasses of water to the cereal.

Grind the poppy seeds until you get milk of the poppy seeds, add honey to it, mix and add to the wheat porridge. At the very end, add crushed nuts and dried fruits steamed with boiling water.

Rice juice

rice - 1 glass,
raisins - 50 g,
prunes - 50 g,
dried apricots - 50 g,
almonds or walnuts - 50 g,
honey - three tbsp.

Rinse the rice, add cold water and bring to a boil. Drain in a colander and rinse again with cold water. Then pour in 1.5 cups of cold water and cook until tender without removing the lid. Steam dried fruits in hot water (15–20 minutes).

Chop prunes and dried apricots. Crush the almonds. If all the water has not boiled away, it should be drained and the rice should be cooled. Add dried fruits, honey and nuts to the rice.

Vzvar

The second mandatory dish of the Christmas table. They prepared a broth from dried fruits, but instead of sugar they added honey. 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 aromatic herbs are often added. There is no need to boil the broth: just pour boiling water over the fruit and leave to infuse. A thermos is perfect for these purposes. It is often diluted with broth and eaten in the form of a liquid sweet porridge.

Lenten pancakes

Christmas Eve evening would not be complete without Lenten dishes. But if kutia and vzvar were obligatory, then pancakes, vinaigrette, cabbage rolls, fish pies, vegetable stews or porridges remained welcome guests on the last day of Lent. Pancakes were a common item on this menu. They perfectly complemented boiled fish or caviar, jam or honey. They just made them without milk and butter. For example, with 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 homes of the wealthy, sturgeon or whitefish could be added to the Christmas vinaigrette.

Christmas: Abundant Breaking of the Fast

When the night passes and after the service the family returns to the house, the long-awaited holiday of Christmas begins. Lent is left behind, and meat dishes, milk and butter pies, fatty fish and luxurious desserts appear on the table.

It was believed that baked goose (or other poultry) and pork dishes should be an indispensable attribute of the Christmas meal. Of course, in the pre-Christmas days, millions of geese, ducks, turkeys and chickens were brought to the country's markets.

“Christmas in Moscow was felt for a long time - with a cheerful, business bustle. We just started to start fasting in Filippovka, on November 14, for the Christmas fast, and at the freight stations, especially in Rogozhskaya, geese cackled day and night - “geese trains”, to Germany: before there were, before the glacier-cars, a living cargo. You won’t believe it - hundreds of trains passed through Moscow - from Kozlov, Tambov, Kursk, Saratov, Samara... I don’t remember the Poltava region, Poland, Lithuania, Volyn: there are different routes from there. , and chicken, and turkey, and grouse... capercaillie and hazel grouse, bacon-brisket, and... - whatever the soul requires for Christmas,” wrote Ivan Shmelev.

Christmas goose with sauerkraut

small goose,
cabbage - 800 g,
bulbs - 4 pcs.,
cumin - 0.5 tbsp,
salt,
oil.

If the carcass is frozen, let the goose lie in the refrigerator for a day. Then wash the goose, rub the outside and inside with salt and caraway seeds. If possible, you can boil the whole goose in red wine, about 40 minutes. The wine will soften the bird.

Stew sauerkraut with butter and onion 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 the goose fat will melt - you will pour it on it.

Pig on the table

Pork was an equally traditional product on the Christmas table. According to legend, when Jesus was born, all the animals joyfully greeted the divine baby in the manger - except the pig. She grunted annoyingly and prevented the baby from sleeping. That is why, as punishment, the pig became an indispensable dish on the Christmas table.

Even during Lent, they began to transport whole convoys of pork to the capitals, to central fairs - there were huge carcasses, barrels of corned beef, and suckling pigs. “It’s bad, it’s bad, but two or three pork carcasses are needed, and black pigs to fry with porridge, about three dozen, and white ones for aspic, molosnichki, two dozen, so that there will be enough for the beginning,” wrote Ivan Shmelev in “The Lord’s Summer.”

Many dishes were prepared from pork, but in every wealthy home the table was decorated with suckling pig with porridge or cold pig with horseradish.

Cold pig with horseradish

The recipe from Ekaterina Avdeeva’s book “The Handbook of a Russian Experienced Housewife” is simple: boil the whole pig in salt water with fragrant herbs - thyme, dill - and onions. Then cut into pieces and top with horseradish and sour cream. Serve cold.

Pork belly stuffed with cabbage and apples

In the old days, porridge was served with pork legs, but you can also make buckwheat porridge with pork belly with cabbage and apples. It will turn out very juicy.

pork belly - 800 g,
cabbage - 400 g,
apples - 5 pcs.,
butter - 1 tbsp,
onion - 1 pc.,
salt and pepper.

Chop fresh cabbage, add salt and squeeze. Add finely chopped sour apples and butter to the cabbage and mix. Wash the pork belly, chop the bones in several places, and cut a large hole between the bones and meat with a knife.

Place the prepared minced meat there, sew it up, place it in a frying pan or baking sheet, sprinkle with finely chopped onion, add 3 tablespoons of water and fry in an oven preheated to 200 °C until cooked. Serve with crumbly buckwheat porridge.

Jellied pig and rooster

Wash the knuckle and legs of the pig well and cut into pieces. Place in a saucepan, add cold water until it covers the meat by a few centimeters, boil and skim off the foam. After an hour, add the rooster carcass.

Cook the jellied meat over very low heat for 6–8 hours until the water boils to half its 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. Sprinkle chopped garlic on the bottom of the dish, lay out the meat, pour in the broth, carefully mix with a spoon and refrigerate until set.

Rye pie with fish

For the 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:

pike perch fillet - 500 g,
peeled mussels - 200 g,
onion - 1 pc.,
carrots – 1 pc.,
pickled cucumber brine - 500 ml,
vegetable oil - 2 tbsp.,
dill - 1 bunch,
salt and white pepper to taste.

Knead the dough, for which 1 tsp. dry yeast pour 5 tsp. warm water, let stand for swelling for 10–15 minutes. Sift wheat and rye flour, pour in vegetable oil, milk at room temperature, add sugar and salt, add yeast, knead.

Leave the dough to rise in a warm place. The dough should rise twice and be kneaded twice. We divide it into 2 parts.

For the filling, boil mussels and fish in cucumber brine and drain in a colander. Peel and finely chop the onions and carrots. Fry vegetables with fish and mussels in a frying pan. Let's add salt and pepper. Turn off and add chopped dill. Form a pie in a baking tray, spread the top with egg yolk and bake for 50 minutes at 170°C.

Ginger Pie

butter - 100 g + another piece for greasing,
dark unrefined cane sugar - 100 g,
flour with baking powder - 175 g,
ground ginger - 4 tsp,
light molasses - 175 g,
ginger wine - 3 tbsp.,
eggs of any size, can be broken - 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 the oven to 160°C and grease a 23cm baking dish. Beat the butter and sugar with a pinch of salt until the mixture is fluffy. Sift together the flour and ground ginger.

Pour in light molasses (for convenience, use a pre-greased spoon and a silicone kitchen spatula), 1 tbsp. wine and mix everything. 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. Smooth the surface and bake for about 50-60 minutes, until the dough sticks to the surface of a wooden skewer inserted into the middle of the cake. Leave the cake to cool in the pan. Once the cake has cooled completely, make the glaze by combining the caster sugar and remaining ginger wine and drizzle over the top of the cake. Cut the ginger root into thin pieces and decorate the pie.

Custard soufflé in Russian

any berries - 500 g,
water - ½ cup,
sugar - 2 cups,
egg whites - 5 pcs.

Make a puree from the berries, add water and cook. Add sugar (about the same amount as puree). Beat the whites into a stiff foam. Add to puree. Place the puree in baking dishes and place in an oven preheated to 170 degrees for 30 minutes.

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 Eve, 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.

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, place 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 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.

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 dressing of 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

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 chop finely.

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.

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.

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:

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

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.