Lenten food: cooking recipes

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Lent is a big event for the Christian world. After all, religious people believe that these days the physical body comes into harmony with the spiritual world, is cleansed of sinful deeds and thoughts, and draws closer to God.

From the article you will learn about the four main Christian fasts, about what kind of food should be taken at this time, and which one is better to abstain from. We will tell you what lean food is and give recipes for its preparation.

Four major Christian fasts

Christmas Lent begins on November 28th and lasts for forty days, including January 6th. On all days, except for odd weekdays and Saturdays, everything is allowed except for certain foods, and vegetable oil and fish are allowed on weekends and on even days.

Lenten food for Great Lent, starting 49 days before Easter Sunday, consists mainly of vegetables and fish, except for the 7th, 4th and 1st weeks.

On the 58th day after Easter, Peter's fast begins and ends on the Day of Peter and Paul. Vegetable oil and fish dishes are prohibited only on odd days of the week, except weekends.

The Dormition fast lasts 14 days from August 14 to August 27th. Vegetable oil is consumed on weekends, and fish can only be eaten on Apple Savior Day, August 19.

What can and can not be eaten in fasting

It is usually forbidden to eat during fasting:

• on strict days - dairy products, eggs and fish;
• meat of poultry and animals.

It is allowed to eat:

• not fancy baked goods;
• Soy and bean foods high in vegetable protein;
• porridge on the water;
• nuts, fruits, dried fruits;
• mushrooms;
• boiled, stewed, s alted vegetables;
• vegetable oil and fish on permitted days.

On these days, cooking is given considerable attention, because lean food, the recipes of which we will give in the article, should contain not only permitted products, but also be he althy, tasty and nutritious.

Lenten first courses

Lenten menu must necessarily contain first courses, because eating dry food harms the digestive tract and causes heartburn and other gastrointestinal disorders. Not everyone knows, but the first courses beloved by many, hodgepodge and cabbage soup, can be prepared without meat and butter, and lean food will not lose its taste and aroma from this.

Solyanka

One day before cooking, soak 0.5 tbsp of red beans, cook it for one and a half to two hours in s alted water. When the beans are ready, leave the broth for the hodgepodge, and put the beans separately in a deep plate. Chop 1 medium sized onion into cubes. 2 marinatedpeel the cucumber, cut into cubes. Fry the onion a little, add the cucumbers and continue frying with the onions. Throw vegetables into boiling bean broth and add 1 tablespoon of tomato paste. Remove the olives from the jar, cut into circles and, when the potatoes are half cooked, add to the pan along with bay leaves and two peas of allspice.

Shi

In 3 liters of boiling water, add 6-7 pcs. diced potatoes, s alt to taste. After 5-7 minutes, add shredded cabbage (small head), 1 piece of sweet pepper, diced. While the vegetables are cooking, fry a small carrot, an onion and a grated tomato in a pan. When the potatoes and cabbage are cooked, add dressing, bay leaf and 3 black peppercorns to the pan. Serve with finely chopped parsley and grated garlic.

Second dishes

Rice porridge with vegetables and mashed potatoes is the most delicious lean food in fasting, the recipes for preparing these dishes are very simple.

Rice porridge with vegetables

Rinse a glass of rice several times until the water runs clear. Bulgarian pepper (1 pc.) Cut into strips, cut half a head of cauliflower into pieces and inflorescences, cut 1 small carrot into strips or thin slices. Pour 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil into a heated pan and throw in spices (cumin / zira and cloves, after 10 seconds - turmeric). Put vegetables: cabbage, carrots, peppers and fry a little. Then add rice and fry for about 3 minutes. and pour in 2 cups of water.

Wait for it to boil, cut the tomato into cubes, throw it into the pan with rice and vegetables, pour a jar of green peas and put 1 bay leaf on top. Add pepper and s alt to taste and simmer covered over low heat for 20 minutes. If the water has not evaporated during this time, cover again and cook until tender. Sprinkle chopped herbs on top.

Mashed potatoes

One and a half kg of potatoes peeled and boiled. Pour the potato broth into a jar. Finely chop a medium-sized onion head, fry in sunflower oil until golden brown. Peel the potatoes, if the mashed potatoes are very thick, add potato broth. Season with onions and serve.

Lenten salads

Lenten food during Lent implies a predominance of vegetables in the diet, so vegetable salads will be very relevant during this period.

Vinaigret

Wash and boil 2 pcs. carrots, 4 pcs. potatoes, 1 pc. beets. Cool, clean. Peel the onion and cut all the vegetables into cubes. Cut three pickled cucumbers and two fresh ones into cubes as well. Add a jar of peas, after draining the water from it. Greens, s alt, pepper - to taste. Dress the salad with 2 tbsp vegetable oil.

Beet salad with nuts and dried fruits

Cook 1 beetroot. Pour boiling water over 100 g of raisins and / or prunes and set aside for 15-30 minutes, drain, rinse and dry. Peel the beets and grate on a coarse grater. Prunes cut into slices. Chop 3-4 walnuts, chop. Add 1-2 grated clovesgarlic, raisins, prunes, nuts, pour 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, sprinkle chopped dill on top.

Snacks

Appetizers - this is the category of recipes that will fit on the menu for any feast. Appetizer recipes are chosen in such a way that none of the guests will believe that we have lenten food in front of us, because these dishes turn out to be very tasty.

Bulgarian pepper

Wash a kilo of bell pepper, get rid of the seeds, cut the stalks and bake in the oven until golden brown. Remove the skin and cut into slices. In a separate bowl, mix 5 cloves of grated garlic, ½ teaspoon s alt, a teaspoon of vinegar. Pour the garlic sauce over the peppers, put in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Herring Cocktail

Grate 2 tsp horseradish, crush 2 tbsp. l cranberries or lingonberries and mix with low-fat mayonnaise. Cut into strips or thin slices 1 red apple and 3 pickled cucumbers. Clean 2 pcs. s alted herring, remove the bones, cut into neat thin slices. Mix all ingredients. Cover the bottom of the dish with lettuce leaves, put the prepared herring mixture on top, decorate with herbs.

Desserts

Desserts are the most delicious lean food, the recipes of which are so simple that cooking does not take much effort and time, and the result will delight both adults and children.

Fruit ice

Clear 3 pcs. kiwi, wash. Sort a glass of strawberries, wash, get rid ofponytails. In an incomplete glass of water, add 2 tbsp. l sugar and 2 tsp lemon juice. Mix. Grate strawberries. Grind kiwi in a blender.

Divide sugar syrup into 2 parts: pour one half into kiwi puree, the other half into strawberries. Half fill small molds or disposable cups with fruit puree, insert an ice cream stick into each mold, put in the freezer for an hour. Take out the molds and add the remaining puree. You can combine kiwi and strawberries to make a striped recipe. And put to cool until completely frozen.

Baked apples

Medium-sized apples (5-6 pieces) cut into 2 parts, get rid of the core. Put in a baking dish in one layer, sprinkle with sugar on top (pour 1 tsp into the middle, if the apples are sour, pour more). If almond or coconut flakes are available, use them by dividing 2 tbsp. l for all halves of apples. Put for half an hour in a preheated oven. Baked apples are a lean food that can be eaten hot or cold.

Fruit salad with honey

If necessary, melt half a cup of honey by placing a jar of honey in hot water.

Wash and clean fruit. Cut the center of 1 large apple; 2 bananas, 4 tangerines, 1-2 kiwi and 1 pc. peel persimmons. Separate the grapes from the bunch, cut into two halves along with plums, get rid of the seeds, peel 1 pomegranate, choosing the grains. Cut apples and bananas into small slices, sprinkling with lemon juice so that the fruits do not darken. Cut mandarin slices into pieces, kiwialso cut into small pieces. Mix ingredients together, pour over honey, stir again and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

Baking

Many mistakenly believe that pastry is unhe althy, and it is not recommended to eat it in fasting, because it contains eggs and milk. However, it is quite possible to cook lean food in the oven without eggs and milk.

Crazy Pie

Mix half a cup of flour with a glass of sugar, 0.5 tbsp cocoa, a pack of vanilla sugar, a pinch of s alt and nuts (to taste), extinguish the soda with vinegar and add to the dry ingredients, mix. Pour 150 g of vegetable oil into the mixture, mix thoroughly, pour a glass of water and knead until smooth.

Pour the dough into a greased mold and spread evenly. Put in the oven for half an hour. While the cake is cooking, mix 3 tbsp cocoa, 3 tbsp sugar, ½ tbsp water, ½ tbsp. oil (since lean food is prepared without butter, vegetable oil must also be added to the icing), and put in a water bath. Cook until glaze thickens. After the cake has cooled, pour glaze over it, cover and set aside for several hours.

Charlotte

Six apples, peeled and finely chopped, drizzled with lemon juice to keep the apples from turning brown, and sprinkled with sugar.

Mix a tablespoon of honey with ½ tbsp. sugar, ¼ tsp cinnamon, a pack of vanilla sugar and pour ½ tbsp boiling water. Stir until the sugar crystals dissolve. Pour ½ tbsp. vegetable oil,continuing to interfere. After mixing 300 g of flour with 2 tsp of baking powder and liquid mixture, knead the dough and pour onto a baking sheet. Spread the apples in an even layer. Put the oven on for 30-35 minutes.

Preparing lenten food does not take too much time and requires minimal material costs, and this is another plus of observing Christian traditions.