The menu of Christmas evening is limited only by the financial possibilities and the imagination of the hostess. To save time and effort, some of the dishes can be replaced with very simple ones.
Beetroot and Prune Salad
This light dish can be prepared in two versions and quickly enough if you pre-bake or cook beets. The difference between them will be only in the gas station. In dietary performance it will be sour cream, and in the usual - mayonnaise mixed with grated garlic.
Required:
- two beets;
- 0.5 tbsp. nuts
- 3 tbsp. l mayonnaise;
- 100 g of prunes;
- pepper and salt to taste.
Cooking:
- Wrap the beets with foil and bake for about 45-50 minutes in the oven at a temperature of 200-210 degrees. You can boil (put in boiling water) or cook in the microwave. Finished root crops to grate on a medium grater.
- Nuts, so that they reveal their aroma and become tastier, fry in a dry pan, periodically mixing until a pleasant smell, remove the husk. Pour nuts into a blender, chop to a large crumb, or chop with a knife.
- Wash the prunes thoroughly, if it is very dry, then pour boiling water for 10 minutes. It is not necessary to keep in water for a long time so that the dried fruits retain a slight stiffness. Swollen fruits cut into strips. For a diet salad, put out slices of prunes in sour cream, and then add to nuts and beets.
- Grate or crush garlic with a press, mix with mayonnaise. Combine this dressing with nuts, prunes and beets, salt, salt, pepper and mix.
Potato dumplings
The classic recipe for such dumplings with mashed potatoes and onion fried is well known. Try to cook them from custard dough with raw potatoes.
Required:
- 3 tbsp. flour;
- egg;
- 1 tbsp. (not complete) boiling water;
- 3 tbsp. l oils;
- half tsp salts;
- 0.5 kg of potatoes;
- one onion;
- optionally 100-150 g of fat;
- ground pepper and salt to taste.
Cooking:
- Sift flour into a deep bowl. Beat in a bowl with vegetable oil with salted egg, add the mixture to the flour, mix well.
- Bring water to a boil (incomplete glass) and immediately pour into flour, mix with a spoon, and then with your hands. After kneading, the dough should not stick to your hands. Put it in a bag, let it rest for about 20 minutes.
- For the filling, grate large potatoes, squeeze the juice. Cut the onion into small cubes, scroll the fat in a meat grinder, mix them with potatoes. Salt and pepper the mixture to taste.
- Divide the dough into several pieces. Roll out each sausage about 3-4 cm thick. Cut them as for lazy dumplings, roll in flour, roll out the juices.
- In the center of each put a filling, close the edges well.
- Bring water to a boil, salt, add a couple of bay leaves, put dumplings, mix gently when they are on the surface, boil for another 6-7 minutes until cooked. Serve with butter or sour cream, for lovers of spicy they can be lightly sprinkled with pepper.
Fried fish
For the festive feast, you can cook salmon steaks, for example, salmon. It takes very little time, but it always turns out delicious, the main thing is not to overdry them. It is necessary to fry immediately before serving.
Prepare steaks according to the number of guests. A heavy cast-iron frying pan, preferably a grill, but you can also use an ordinary one, heat it well with oil.
Lay the pieces of fish, fry for about 4-5 minutes on each side, just 10 minutes - and the gourmet dish is ready. Put a piece of butter on the prepared steaks, pour lemon juice over it and serve immediately.
Boiled potatoes with vegetable oil and crushed garlic
Despite its simplicity, this is a wonderful addition to vegetable salads and homemade pickles, as well as to any hot dishes. For cooking, choose potatoes with a lower starch content.
Required:
- 0.5 kg of potatoes;
- a medium-sized bunch of dill;
- a couple of garlic cloves;
- to taste salt and oil.
Cooking:
- Select small potato tubers of the same size, wash and peel well. If only large ones are available, then cut them into several parts.
- Fold in a pan, add water, salt, let it boil. Reduce heat, cook at a barely noticeable boil, removing the foam, another 15-20 minutes until tender. If the potato is easily pierced by a match, then the pan can be removed from the stove.
- Drain the potatoes from water, pour oil, add finely chopped dill. If there is no fresh green, then you can use dry.
- Squeeze the cloves of garlic into the potato, close the pan with a lid and shake several times to distribute the dill, oil and garlic evenly between the tubers, let stand a little so that they are saturated with the dill-garlic smell.
- Transfer the potatoes to a heated dish, serve hot.
Stewed cabbage with mushrooms
Another option for a quick budget side dish or an independent dish. For cooking, it is better to take champignons with a dark hat, they are more fragrant.
Required:
- 0.5 kg of cabbage;
- 300-400 g of champignons;
- 100 g onions;
- 5 tbsp. l oils;
- one carrot;
- a pinch of ground coriander;
- 1 tbsp. l tomato paste;
- a pinch of caraway seeds;
- ground pepper and salt to taste.
Cooking:
- To prepare bends of medium or small size, it is better not to wash them, but to wipe the hats with a cloth if there is earth on them. Cut the mushrooms into slices.
- Heat the pan well, add oil, put mushrooms, fry until soft and a pleasant smell. At the end of cooking, pepper and lightly salt.
- Finely chop the cabbage, put it in a large bowl, add salt, and mash it with your hands so that the juice appears.
- Peel and grate the carrots, pour into cabbage and mix.
- Heat oil in a pan, put a mixture of carrots with cabbage, cook until the last golden color for about 15 minutes.
- Chop the onions finely, pour them into the pan, mix, cook for 7 minutes, add tomato paste and spices, simmer for a couple of minutes.
- Pour 0.5 cups of hot water to the cabbage, put the mushrooms, gently stir, close the lid, cook for another 10 minutes.
Now you know how to quickly and easily prepare interesting dishes for Christmas. Use these recipes to please your family and guests.
