Recipes for New Year's Eve (New Year): 6 dishes

December 31 is the special night that makes the transition between years. With a special meaning for all of us, with new beginnings, with family and friends, New Year's Eve is special not only because of the party, but also because of the culinary dishes served regardless of where you are in the world. Over time there have been several customs and superstitions related to this special night, related to different activities, but also to food. Here's what you can eat on New Year's Eve and why you're not allowed to touch yourself to avoid bad luck.

In addition to the recipes of hot and cold Romanian appetizers and of Romanian desserts that we have already prepared for you, today we will tell you which dishes you can prepare for New Year's Eve. As you already know, the products you need, fruits and vegetables or barbecue products, you can already find all of them in our onsite and online A&S Market stores.

What's good to eat on New Year's Eve?

New Year's Eve is awaited by all the people in the world because it represents a perfect moment in which we prepare ourselves with new resolutions, put an end to bad things and start new ones with more courage. In addition to the outfit, make-up, and location, New Year's Eve meal is extremely important. In every corner of the world there are certain specific dishes, and in Romania these are surely not missing from the festive tables:

• fish – it is said that as a fish swims through water, so you will swim through all the problems of the coming year, unscathed. Also, fish must be the first food you eat on New Year's Eve.
• Grapes - eat 12 grapes, and make a money related wish. Grapes and raisins are said to symbolize financial abundance.
• Champagne or sparkling wine – must be drunk at midnight to have a prosperous year. It is said that if you drink the glass to the bottom all your wishes will come true.
• Round fruits - another tradition says that on New Year's Eve it is good to have round fruits on the table because their shape is associated with infinity and continuity. Thus, if you eat them it is said that you will increase your chances of success in the New Year.

And yet, what are the best recipes for this magical night? We know that you worked hard for the Christmas table, so the New Year's table should be a bit "light". Here are some simple but delicious recipes suitable for this holiday.

Appetizers with tomatoes and boiled eggs

Appetizers with tomatoes and boiled eggs are prepared in about an hour and are extremely tasty.

Ingredients needed:

• 12 medium tomatoes
• 1 boiled chicken breast
• 1 bell pepper
• 2-3 lettuce leaves
• 200g mayonnaise
• 4 tablespoons of boiled rice
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 100g mix de legume
• 4 mandarin slices from the compote
• 12 boiled eggs
• 100g salmon or other smoked fish 1 teaspoon grated horseradish
• 50g stuffed olives, sliced
• green parsley
  

Method of preparation:

Choose 6 tomatoes and cut the top piece from each one, that will be the 'lid'. Clean the core with a teaspoon, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and let it drain. Cut half of the chicken breast into cubes and mix in a bowl with the diced bell pepper, chopped lettuce and a spoonful of mayonnaise. Put this filling in the peeled tomatoes, then sprinkle a little mayonnaise and cover with the tomato caps. Garnish with mayonnaise.

Mix the remaining diced chicken breast, cooked rice, cooked vegetables and lemon juice. They are put as filling in four tomatoes cut and cleaned in the shape of baskets. Add a slice of tangerine to each tomato and garnish with green parsley.

Cut six eggs in half and fill with mayonnaise and sliced olives or mayonnaise and slices of smoked fish.

The other eggs are cut at one end so that they are placed vertically and covered with a tomato 'lid' on which a little mayonnaise mixed with grated horseradish has been put.

Pancakes filled with smoked salmon and salad

Pancakes filled with smoked salmon and salad are a bit more complex, but their taste is worth the effort. They are also extremely suitable for sophisticated meals where you want to impress your guests.

Ingredients needed:

For the dough

• 80g flour
• 2 eggs
• 250 ml of milk
• high
• oil
  

For the preparation

• 6 pieces of smoked salmon
• 100 g cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon cottage cheese
• 1/2 bunch of chives
• 1 bunch parsley
• 1 lemon
• high
• piper
• 1 bell pepper, red

Method of preparation:

Put the flour in a bowl, make a well in the middle and break the eggs inside. Add the oil, salt and a little milk. Mix well until homogenized, then add the rest of the milk little by little until it has the consistency of a cream. Put a teaspoon of oil in the pan, heat it well and pour the pancake batter with a ladle.

Mix the cottage cheese with the cream cheese, add the finely chopped bell pepper, lemon juice and white pepper.

Spread each pancake with cream cheese and place a thin slice of smoked salmon on top. They are rolled and put in the cold.

Sea bream with champagne

Sea bream with champagne is an extremely suitable recipe for New Year's Eve. Even if it seems complicated you know it's not. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients needed:

• 1 sea bream of almost 1 kg (cleaned and ready to cook)
• 200g mushrooms
• 1 medium leek
• 1 large potato
• 1 clove of garlic
• 4 tablespoons of oil
• 25g of butter
• 1 lemon
• half a liter of champagne/cava
• high
• piper alb
• chopped parsley
  

Method of preparation:

Cut the julienned leeks and fry them in a pan with a little oil until they become transparent and season with a little salt.

Add the champagne or cava, reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Cut the potatoes into slices, cover with cold water and set aside.

The mushrooms are cleaned from the soil and cut into slices. Sauté in butter until they start to leave water. Season with salt and pepper, then remove from heat.

Wash and dry the sea bream with a clean kitchen towel. It is seasoned with salt and pepper, after which we score it in several places with a sharp knife. Cut the lemon into slices and put them in the notches we made earlier.

Place the potatoes, leeks (without the champagne sauce) and mushrooms in an oven tray. The sea bream will be placed on top of the vegetables and sprinkled with the remaining lemon juice.

The oven is preheated to 200 degrees Celsius. Place in the oven and cook for about 25 minutes, regularly basting the fish with the reserved champagne sauce.

Garnish with chopped parsley.

Pork tenderloin with apple sauce and sauteed vegetables

You definitely have leftover pork from Christmas on hand. Here's what you can do with it on New Year's Eve:

Ingredients needed:

• 1 pork loin of approx. 1 kg
• 200 ml white wine
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 1 tablespoon pork seasoning
• garlic powder
• Paprika
• piper
• 3 spoons of honey
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

For the applesauce:

• 2 large sweet and sour apples
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 50 ml white wine

For the garnish:

• 500g vegetables (peas, carrot, cauliflower, broccoli)
• 50g butter
• 1 teaspoon vegetable seasoning

Method of preparation:

Mix the spices in a bowl and rub the meat well with the resulting mixture. Wrap the meat in aluminum foil and place it in the tray. Add the white wine and put in the oven for 30-40 minutes.

Remove the moss from the foil and glaze it with honey diluted with balsamic vinegar.

Put it in the oven again for 10-15 minutes, to brown it. Remove the moss from the pan, cover it with aluminum foil and leave it for a few minutes to release its flavors, then you can cut it into slices.

While the meat is in the oven, you can prepare the applesauce.

Peel the apples and cut them into small cubes. Then you saute them in butter until they start to soften. Add the brown sugar and leave them on the fire for another two minutes. Mix the composition, add the wine and bring it to a boil.

Saute vegetables in butter and season with vegetable seasoning. The vegetables should not be left very long, they should maintain their color and be slightly crunchy, they should not soften.

You can add salt and pepper to taste. Place everything on a plate and you can serve the meal.

Cake with whipped cream and pineapple

Festive desserts are a must on such a special night. Here's how you can prepare a simple and delicious dessert.

Ingredients needed:

For the dough

• 5 eggs
• 200g of sugar
• 200g flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 40g finely chopped almonds
• 5 tablespoons warm water
• 30g of butter
• butter and flour for lining the form

For the filling

• 500g canned pineapple
• 500g fresh cheese
• 75g of sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk powder
• 8 gelatin sheets
• 500 ml whipping cream
• 1 packet of vanilla sugar
• 50g finely chopped almonds

Decorating

• 1 candied cherry
• finely chopped almonds

Method of preparation:

Beat the eggs with the sugar and 5 tablespoons of warm water, until all the sugar melts and a cream with the consistency of cream is obtained. Add the softened butter, flour sifted with baking powder and almonds. Mix gently, pour into a tray lined with baking paper and bake at a suitable heat for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool and use the next day.

Leave the gelatin to soften, and cut the pineapple in the compote into cubes. Reserve two pineapple slices for garnish. Whip the cream with the vanilla sugar and refrigerate, and mix the fresh cheese with the sugar and powdered milk. Separate a small part of the cheese and mix it over a bowl of warm water with gelatin. Then fold in all the cream cheese and add the pineapple cubes, almonds and half of the whipped cream.

Cut the top crosswise into two sheets, which are syruped with the syrup from the canned pineapple and filled with cream cheese. Keep 1/3 of the whipped cream for decoration, and cover the cake with the rest.

Then decorate with almonds, whipped cream, pineapple and candied cherry.

Let it cool for 2 hours and then it can be served.

'Checkmate' cake

It looks like a complicated cake, but it's ready in less than 60 minutes and looks magnificent.

Ingredients needed:

• 250 ml of liquid cream
• 1 pinch of salt
• 100 ml of liquid cream
• 1 small glass of chocolate cream
• 1 ampoule of vanilla extract
• 3 spoons of cocoa
• 180g of flour
• 180g powdered sugar
• 6 eggs
• chocolate decorations

Method of preparation:

Mix the egg yolks with the sugar and, after the cream is whitened, add the flour. Add the foam obtained from mixing the egg whites with a pinch of salt.

Separate the mixture into two equal parts, put vanilla in one and cocoa in the other. Pour the two mixtures into two non-stick cake forms or greased and lined with flour. Bake for 15 minutes and leave to cool completely.

Spread one of the cakes with the chocolate cream mixed with hot liquid cream and place the second cake on top of it. Press a little and refrigerate for 15 minutes. After this time, three strips are cut lengthwise and placed on a tray alternating them to form a checkerboard. Leave to cool for 30 minutes.

Whip the cream and coat the cake, then refrigerate again for two hours. Decorate with chocolate lattice.

We have chosen for you some of the simplest and most suitable recipes for New Year's meal.

The A&S Market team will be waiting for you to choose the ingredients you need for preparation them and wish you a Happy New Year!