New Year Recipes From Around the World

Ingredients

• • 12 seedless green or red grapes, chilled
• • Optional: a glass of cava (Spanish sparkling wine)

Steps

1. 1Wash and dry 12 grapes and arrange them in a small bowl or on a plate.
2. 2Gather around the clock (or the live Puerta del Sol broadcast).
3. 3With each of the twelve chimes, eat one grape and make a wish for that month.
4. 4Toast the new year with cava — ¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

Ingredients

• • 1 cup dried black-eyed peas, soaked
• • 1 smoked ham hock or 4 oz bacon
• • 1 onion, diced
• • 1 celery stalk, diced
• • 1 green bell pepper, diced
• • 2 cloves garlic, minced
• • 1 cup long-grain rice
• • 3 cups broth, salt & pepper
• • Collard greens & cornbread, to serve

Steps

1. 1Sauté onion, celery, pepper and garlic with the ham hock or bacon until soft.
2. 2Add the drained peas, broth, salt and pepper; simmer 45–55 min until tender.
3. 3Cook rice separately. Fold peas into the rice, adjust seasoning.
4. 4Serve with collard greens (the 'money') and golden cornbread for a prosperous plate.

Ingredients

• • 1 cup green or brown lentils
• • 1 cotechino or zampone sausage (precooked)
• • 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk (chopped)
• • 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 bay leaf
• • Broth, salt & pepper

Steps

1. 1Sauté the soffritto (onion, carrot, celery) in olive oil until soft.
2. 2Add lentils, bay leaf and enough broth to cover; simmer 35–40 min until tender.
3. 3Simmer the cotechino in water per package directions, then slice into rounds.
4. 4Spoon lentils onto a plate, top with sausage slices — every lentil is a coin for the year ahead.

Ingredients

• • 1 whole white fish (sea bass or carp), cleaned
• • Ginger, scallions, soy sauce, sesame oil
• • 1 package dumpling wrappers
• • 1 lb ground pork + napa cabbage filling

Steps

1. 1Score the fish, stuff with ginger and scallions; steam 12–15 min until flaky.
2. 2Finish with hot oil, soy sauce and sesame oil poured over the top.
3. 3Mix pork and cabbage filling; fold into dumplings in gold-ingot shapes.
4. 4Boil or pan-fry dumplings — serve both together for a meal of surplus and fortune.

Ingredients

• • 4 portions dried soba (buckwheat) noodles
• • 4 cups dashi broth
• • 3 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp mirin, 1 tsp sugar
• • Sliced scallions, kamaboko fish cake, nori

Steps

1. 1Simmer dashi with soy sauce, mirin and sugar to make the warm broth.
2. 2Cook soba noodles until tender, then drain and rinse briefly.
3. 3Divide noodles into bowls, ladle hot broth over the top.
4. 4Garnish with scallions, kamaboko and nori — slurp the long noodles whole for longevity.

Ingredients

• • 12 different round fruits (apples, oranges, grapes, melons, plums, etc.)
• • Optional: a round centerpiece bowl

Steps

1. 1Select 12 distinct round fruits, one for each month of the year.
2. 2Wash and arrange them in a round bowl at the center of the table.
3. 3At midnight, share the fruits with family — each one a wish for a prosperous month.
4. 4Keep the display round and full to invite abundance all year.

Ingredients

• • 4 cups flour, 1 cup milk, 1 packet yeast
• • 2 eggs, 1/2 cup raisins & currants
• • Pinch of salt, sugar, oil for frying

Steps

1. 1Warm the milk, dissolve yeast; mix in flour, eggs, salt and fruit to a sticky dough.
2. 2Let rise covered in a warm spot for 1 hour until doubled.
3. 3Scoop rounds into hot oil (180°C) and fry 4–5 min until golden.
4. 4Drain on paper, dust generously with powdered sugar — eat warm for luck.

Ingredients

• • 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 3/4 cup butter
• • 3 eggs, 1 cup milk, zest of 2 oranges
• • 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp vanilla
• • 1 clean coin (wrapped in foil)

Steps

1. 1Cream butter and sugar, beat in eggs one at a time, add zest and milk.
2. 2Fold in flour and baking powder to a smooth batter.
3. 3Pour into a greased pan, push the foil-wrapped coin into the batter.
4. 4Bake at 180°C for 45–55 min. Cut into slices — the finder of the coin wins the year's luck.

Ingredients

• • 1 lb fresh long wheat noodles
• • 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sesame oil
• • Ginger, garlic, scallions, bok choy
• • Optional: sliced chicken or mushrooms

Steps

1. 1Boil the noodles whole — do not break or cut them.
2. 2Stir-fry ginger, garlic and your protein, add bok choy.
3. 3Toss in the noodles with soy sauce and sesame oil, keeping them intact.
4. 4Serve and slurp the long noodles whole — never bite them in half.

Ingredients

• • 2 cups pomegranate seeds
• • 1 cup walnut halves, toasted
• • 1 tbsp honey or date syrup
• • Yogurt or soft cheese, to serve

Steps

1. 1Toast walnuts until fragrant, then roughly chop.
2. 2Mix pomegranate seeds with honey and a pinch of cinnamon.
3. 3Layer over yogurt or soft cheese in small bowls.
4. 4Serve as a bright New Year's side — every red seed a wish for abundance.

Ingredients

• • 2 cups almond flour, 2 cups powdered sugar
• • 2 egg whites, 1 tsp vanilla
• • Royal icing for decorating

Steps

1. 1Knead almond flour, sugar and egg whites into a smooth dough; chill 1 hour.
2. 2Roll into ropes and shape into 6–8 concentric rings using a kransekake pan.
3. 3Bake at 200°C for 15–18 min until golden; cool completely.
4. 4Stack from largest to smallest, drizzle with royal icing — a tower of rising luck.

Ingredients

• • 1 lb pork sausage, 1 cup green lentils
• • 1 onion, 2 carrots, 2 cloves garlic
• • 2 tbsp olive oil, thyme, broth
• • Salt, pepper, a splash of vinegar

Steps

1. 1Brown the pork sausage in olive oil, then remove.
2. 2Sauté onion, carrots and garlic; add lentils, thyme and broth.
3. 3Return pork, simmer 40 min until lentils are tender.
4. 4Finish with vinegar — serve warm for a forward-looking, prosperous year.