Every year more and more people decide to abide by the rules and prohibitions of Great Lent. Someone at the call of the heart and from the motives of faith, someone for cleansing body and health promotion. Whatever the reason, it can be annoying if family holidays fall during the fast. Traditionally, all holidays in our country are accompanied by a delicious feast. How can you prevent fasting family members from staying on the side of the table?
We have selected a few simple recipes that will help you put together a real lenten festive table at no extra cost. Even if you and your family do not fast, take these recipes into service. Firstly, the meals they serve are healthy and nutritious. Second, they diversify the gold standard chicken-chops-chicken. Third, if one of your guests is fasting, he will be immensely grateful to you for such concern.
Main course: oven-baked carp
The main dish on the Lenten festive table is, of course, fish. Type of fish depends on the degree of "festivity" of the event. You can fry salmon steaks, or you can bake mackerel. We have chosen the "golden mean" - not too expensive, and at the same time not an everyday option. Carp meat is very tender, with a slight sweetish aftertaste, and extremely healthy.
Oven-baked carp will surprise guests with its juicy meat and delicate taste / istockphoto.com
Composition:
- medium-sized carp carcass - 1 pc.
- fennel seeds (can be replaced with dill seeds) - 1 tsp l.
- garlic - 1 clove
- vegetable oil - 1.5 tbsp. l.
- orange juice - 50 ml
- wine vinegar (or dry white wine) - 1 tsp l.
- salt, freshly ground black pepper - to taste
Cooking method: Prepare the fish: wash and clean, cut the belly, remove the entrails, cut off the head and tail. Cut the carcass in half lengthways and remove the spine. There should be two pieces of fish fillet on the ribs. Dry the fish with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Place the carp skin side up in a baking dish on parchment or foil. Crush the fennel seeds in a mortar and sprinkle them over the carp. Sprinkle with vegetable oil, lightly rub it into the fish. Drizzle with orange juice and vinegar, sprinkle with finely chopped garlic. Refrigerate for an hour. Remove the carp before baking and leave for 10 minutes at room temperature. Drizzle the remaining oil over the fish. Bake the carp for 20 minutes in an oven heated to 210 ° C.
Garnish: potato casserole
Potatoes are great as a side dish for carp. If mashed potatoes with milk and butter do not shine for you until the end of the fast, prepare a potato casserole with garlic sauce. This dish looks very elegant, and it smells just charming. And by the way, if the oven allows, you can cook potatoes right away with carp.
Lean potato casserole is a hearty and elegant side dish / istockphoto.com
Composition:
- potatoes - 8 pcs.
- onions - 3 pcs.
- garlic - 4-5 cloves
- dry forest mushrooms - 30 g
- vegetable oil
- Bay leaf
- a pinch of nutmeg
- salt, black pepper
Cooking method: Peel the potatoes and cut into circles no more than 2 mm thick. Peel the onion and cut into feathers the same thickness as the potatoes. Grind dry forest mushrooms in a coffee grinder or blender. Prepare the casserole oil: Combine the garlic, nutmeg and 120 ml vegetable oil in a blender. Brush a baking dish with garlic oil. Lay the potatoes in layers. Sprinkle each layer with onions, season with mushroom powder, salt and pepper, sprinkle with garlic oil. The last should be potatoes, sprinkled with mushroom powder. Gently pour in 2 cups of water around the edge. Place the casserole in an oven preheated to 180 ° C for 30-40 minutes.
First salad: lean herring under a fur coat
Herring under a fur coat is an almost ready-made recipe for a lenten festive table. Only mayonnaise and eggs interfere with the overall picture. We mercilessly remove the eggs, replace mayonnaise with mustard dressing, add a green apple for piquancy. It is possible that your household will like the lean fur coat even more than the traditional one, and will become a "regular" of your holidays.
Herring under a fur coat is very easy to make from lean products / istockphoto.com
Composition:
- beets - 2 pcs.
- potatoes - 3 pcs.
- carrots - 2 pcs.
- herring - 2 pcs.
- apple - 1 pc.
- onion - 1 pc.
- mustard - 2 tsp
- salt - 1/2 tsp
- vinegar - 2 tsp vegetable oil - 100 ml
Cooking method: Prepare vegetables: boil beets, carrots and potatoes. Cool, peel, finely chop or grate. Wash the onion and green apple, peel and cut into small cubes. Prepare the dressing: mix the mustard, salt and vinegar and slowly pour in the oil, stirring constantly to dissolve well. Instead of regular vinegar, you can use balsamic or apple cider vinegar. Peel the herring from the skin, entrails and bones, chop finely and mix with the onion. Mix each salad component separately with the dressing. 7. Lay the salad on a dish in layers: potatoes - herring with onions - carrots - apple - beets. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
Second salad: vinaigrette with wild mushrooms
Light vegetable salads are not suitable for the holiday: we are accustomed to having a satisfying meal from the first spoonful. The good old vinaigrette does an excellent job with this task. If you consider it a simple everyday meal, add a touch of flavor with beans and wild mushrooms. It's good if you have prepared them in the fall. If not, look for the forest ones. With them, the vinaigrette will not only taste amazing, but also smell.
Vinaigrette with mushrooms and beans will suit any festive table / istockphoto.com
Composition:
- beets - 1 pc.
- carrots - 1 pc.
- potatoes - 2 pcs.
- onion - 1 pc.
- pickled cucumbers - 3 pcs.
- beans - 3 tbsp. l.
- dry forest mushrooms - 3 tbsp. l.
- vegetable oil - 60 ml.
- salt, black pepper
Cooking method: Prepare beans in the evening: rinse and cover with cold water. Drain the water in the morning and boil until tender. Prepare vegetables: boil potatoes, beets and carrots, cool, peel, cut into cubes. Pour dry mushrooms with water. Once they are soaked, cut into cubes and simmer for 10 minutes. Dice the pickles and onions. Combine all ingredients in a deep bowl and season with sunflower oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Hot appetizer: rice zrazy with mushrooms
Outwardly, this dish is so similar to cutlets that not every fasting person dares to prick it on a fork. And if the zrazy is lightly stewed in tomato sauce, they will "pass" for ordinary meatballs even for children. An important prerequisite for cooking: do not take "trendy" types of rice, such as brown or basmati. This requires regular round grain rice with a high gluten content.
Rice zrazy with mushrooms - a great alternative to cutlets / istockphoto.com
Composition:
- rice - 300 g
- champignons - 200-250 g
- onion - 1 pc.
- garlic - 1-2 cloves
- starch - 1 tbsp. l.
- vegetable oil - 50 ml
- bread crumbs - 50 g
- salt, black pepper
Cooking method: Boil rice. Peel, wash and chop the onion and garlic. Wash and chop the mushrooms as well. Fry the onion in a little oil, then add the mushrooms and garlic. Fry for 3-4 minutes, season with salt to taste. Add starch to rice, mix thoroughly. Dampen your palms with water. Take the rice with a tablespoon and place it in the palm of your hand. Flatten it into a flat cake. Place in the center for about 1 hour. l. mushrooms. Put rice on top and blind everything well into a single piece. Then roll the zrazy in breadcrumbs and fry on both sides until golden brown in a little vegetable oil.
Cold appetizer: zucchini rolls
With the arrival of spring, "golden" zucchini in supermarkets are gradually starting to fall in price. Now you can buy a kilogram of young zucchini 45-50 UAH. And let them say that there is no benefit in greenhouse vegetables. But the dish turns out to be very festive and incredibly tasty.
Zucchini rolls make a great cold snack / istockphoto.com
Composition:
- zucchini - 2 pcs.
- bulgarian pepper - 1 pc.
- lemon - 1/3 pc.
- almonds - 25 g
- garlic - 1-2 cloves
- vegetable oil - 1 tbsp. l
- basil, parsley
- salt
Cooking method: Cut the courgettes lengthwise into thin slices. Fry in vegetable oil on both sides until soft. Grease bell peppers with oil, wrap in foil and bake in an oven preheated to 180 ° C for 20-30 minutes. Combine chopped parsley, finely chopped garlic and almonds, basil, salt and 1 tbsp. l. oils. Add 1 tsp. l. lemon juice and stir. Remove the skin from the cooled pepper, cut the pulp into cubes and add to the filling. Salt each zucchini slab and add the filling. Roll up the roll and drizzle with lemon juice.
Dessert: Berry Turkish Delight
At the end of any holiday, the hostess must come up with something for tea. You can delight guests with lean pastries. And you can make a light and delicate oriental dessert. Turkish delight with berry syrup is a beautiful, refined and, most importantly, easy-to-prepare delicacy. You can (and should!) Cook it a couple of days before the celebration. So you will save time, and the sweetness will definitely solidify and take on the desired shape.
Berry Turkish delight - an exquisite and tender lean dessert / istockphoto.com
- sugar - 1.5 tbsp.
- berry syrup - 100 ml
- water - 100 ml
- lemon juice - 1 tbsp. l.
- corn starch - 1/2 tbsp.
- ice water - 1.5 tbsp.
- powdered sugar and starch - 1/2 cup (in equal parts)
Cooking method: Prepare the syrup: In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, mix 100 ml of water, 100 ml of strawberry (or raspberry) syrup and 1.5 tablespoons of sugar, put on medium heat. Cook until sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. Mix starch with ice water, mix thoroughly and put on low heat. When the starch has become thick, remove it from the heat. When the syrup has boiled, remove the froth and reduce heat to low. Check the readiness of the sap for a "hard ball". Put the syrup in ice water, remove the caramel drop from the water, the syrup should roll into a ball. Now pour the syrup into the starch mixture, stirring thoroughly with a whisk so that there are no lumps. Boil this thick sweet jelly until thickened over low heat for 20-30 minutes. Cool the mass a little and pour into molds lined with cling film, smooth. Leave it open in the refrigerator overnight. Next, cut Turkish delight into cubes and roll in a mixture of starch and powdered sugar.
You will also be interested in reading:
Everyday Lenten Pastry: Crazy Pie and Orange Muffins
Great Lent 2021: the priest spoke about the rules and traditions
When is Lent in 2021: date and rules
