13 dishes on the table in Russia at New Year

ARTS & LIVING

DEC 31, 2015 ELENA POCHETOVA

What should be on the festive table to make it truly a la Russe?

Tangerines

Lena Pochetova

Every year, Russians celebrate the New Year with unprecedented scale, spending
days, weeks, even months preparing for it. After the holiday, the entire country takes
a break. Tables groan with traditional dishes that may seem odd to the untrained eye.
The New Year's dinner would lose much of its flavor if it were not imbued with the
mixed smells of freshly cut fir trees and the much-loved New Year's dessert –
tangerines.
Olivier
Fotoimedia

The famous Russian salad "Olivier" is a mixture of finely chopped boiled eggs,
sausages and marinated cucumbers, seasoned with the mayonnaise sauce. Salads are
an essential part of any Russian meal on the eve of Russia's biggest holiday, New
Year. You can also cook "Beetroot salad" composed of kraut, diced boiled beets, and
white beans.
Red or black caviar

Lori/Legion Media

If we consider black sturgeon caviar, then gray or beluga caviar is the more exquisite
variety. Caviar is usually served on small, white bread pieces with butter. If caviar is
served as a separate dish, the bowl with caviar is placed on chipped ice.
Caviar on the New Year table is a symbol of wealth and brings Russians hope that the
next year will be a year of abundance.
Herring under fur
Lena Pochetova

This is a layered salad where the herring fillet layer is followed by boiled vegetables
(including, incidentally, beetroots) and green apples. This is probably the weirdest
Russian dish. According to legend, the dish appeared in 1919 at the height of
revolutionary debates. A chef at a small inn and tavern grabbed a herring
(symbolizing the proletariat), added some potatoes (to symbolize the peasantry), a
red beet (the color of both blood and the Bolsheviks’ flag) and French Provençal
sauce and artfully placed all the ingredients on a dish. And it was presented at on
New Year’s Eve 1919.
Pickled cucumbers
Lena Pochetova

The most traditional snacks that "go with vodka" - sauerkraut and pickled
cucumbers. Grown in Russia's temperate climate, these vegetables have a far more
delicious taste than cucumbers or cabbage grown in the gastronomic paradise of the
Mediterranean, which might be a piece of news even to the greatest patriots of
Russia.
Fried or baked suckling pig
Legion Media

This is either served with sour cream and horseradish (in classic Russian style), or,
stuffed with buckwheat porridge and roasted. A distinctive aftertaste remains when a
glass of cold vodka is followed by a piece of hot meat.
Vinaigrette
Lena Pochetova

Another Russian salad with a French name, "vinaigrette," or beetroot salad, is also
fairly easy to make: the above ingredients are supplemented with boiled beet roots,
which is a very common vegetable in Russian cuisine. Naturally enough, it is dressed
with vinegar, as follows from its title, and can also contain herring fillets salted with
spices.
Salted vegetables and mushrooms
Lena Pochetova

Russian vegetables and mushrooms are traditionally salted with the help of natural
lactic acid fermentation, and are usually called kvashennie, or sour – a major branch
of Russian cuisine.
Kholodets (meat jelly)
Lena Pochetova

The jelly from a pig's head, rich beef bones and rooster are especially popular,
because the broth creates a rich amber color and a particular taste. The famous
Russian root – grated horseradish or mustard? is traditionally served with these
various kinds of meat jelly.
Pies
Fotoimedia

For Russian, pies are not just for festive occasions, but everyday fare. There are
thousands of different recipes, ranging from the most common (chicken, meat, or