New Year Eve Recipes: Savory Croissants, Gnocchi, Lentils, Cheese with Grape, Banana Bread

What can you prepare at New Year Eve dinner?

There are so many recipes that sometimes it is difficult to decide what to serve as starter, main course, side and dessert at New Year Eve.

I hope that these 4 dishes can be useful to you in many other occasions of this 2014.

New Year table decoration
New Year table decoration

I had a frozen puff pastry in my freezer so I decided to prepare savory croissants as starter.  I also prepared homemade Gnocchi as main course. As side, I made lentils as good luck and Banana Bread as dessert. As dessert I served cheese and grape.

Happy New Year’s eve to all of you!

Starter: Savory Croissants

Ingredients (for 2 people):

  • 1 puffy pastry (ready or home made)
  • cheddar cheese
  • smoked black forest ham
  • Rosemary or Oregano
  • 1 egg white

Preparation

  • Divide the smoked ham counting that you need to fill 12 croissants.
  • Cut the ham into half lengthways.
  • Cut the cheddar cheese into cubes.
  • Roll the puff pastry out and cut it in half.
  • Make 12 triangles with base 9cm.
  • Once you obtained the triangles, practice a small incision in the center of the base of each triangle.
  • Enlarge the pastry slightly, fill the triangles with cheddar cheese and smoked ham.
  • Add rosemary, then wrap each triangles.
  • Bent towards the center of the lateral extremities and also close the tip of the croissant.
  • Brush the croissants with egg white and cover with oregano.
Croissent to bake
Croissent to bake
  • Preheat the oven and bake them to 180 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes, until golden- brown.
Baked croissant
Baked croissant
  • You should have 10-12 Savory Croissants to serve, which depends on the size of your triangles.
  • Place and serve as starter. Set aside.
Croissant served on a plate
Croissant served on a plate
  • I decorated the dish with hearts shaped omelette.
hearts shaped eggs served with croissants
hearts shaped eggs served with croissants

Main course: Potatoes Gnocchi

Homemade Gnocchi are amazing and so easy to prepare and so perfect for New Year Eve dinner.

  • For ingredients and preparation please have a look to my previous post about Potatoes Gnocchi.
Homemade gnocchi as main course
Homemade gnocchi as main course
  • As soon as your gnocchi are cooked, dress your potato gnocchi with butter and sage for example.
Gnocchi served with sages and butter
Gnocchi served with sages and butter

Side dish : Lentils for Good Luck 

In my previous post, I explain how to cook Lentils.

According to tradition, lentils symbolize prosperity and money, as they have similar shape to that of coins. For this reason, in Italy during the New Year’s Eve you eat lentils (often as an accompaniment to gammon or pork sausage), as a symbol of luck for the new year.

Ingredients 6 people: 

Preparation of lentils
All the ingredients that you need to prepare lentils are in this large pot
  • 3 carrots
  • 3 stalks of celery
  • 6 cherry tomatoes
  • half white onion
  • vegetable stock
  • lentils 500 gr up ( I do not ever weight lentils)
  • extra virgin olive oil

Preparation 

  • Cover lentils with water all the night before. The following day (New Year eve’s), drain the lentils and cook as I explained in my previous post. 
  • Put all the ingredients in a large casserole.
  • Add as much water than you need to cover the ingredients.
cover with water the lentils and vegetables.
cover with water the lentils and vegetables
  • Let the lentils and vegetables cook until tender.
  • Mix time to time, add water if the level is too low.
  • Tip: This will prevent the lentils from sticking to the bottom or burn too.
lentils are cooked when tender so do the vegetables added.
lentils are cooked when tender so do the vegetables added.
  • Only at the end, add oil to the lentils.
  • Set aside, serve after the main course.
Lentils served warm lovely with some parmesan on the top
Lentils served warm lovely with some parmesan on the top
  • As third course you can serve cheese and grape.
Cheeses and red grapes as second main course
Cheeses and red grapes as second main course or dessert

 

  • I bought a selection of cheese at any supermarket and I served with grape.
All the dishes prepared in this post are served
All the dishes prepared in this post are served

.

  • The dessert is Banana bread : For the recipe you can have look at my previous post.
  • You can serve banana bread later for example at midnight to celebrate the new Year.
  • Asti, the Italian spumante, is perfect with banana bread. The combination of the flavour of Banana Bread and the sparkling of the Italian Spumante was amazing. 
Heart shaped banana bread
Heart shaped banana bread
  • Decorate your table as you like.
  • I am sure that you dinner will be a success and all your friends will love it as much mine did.
Decorate you table for New Year Eve
Decorate you table for New Year Eve

I wish you an Happy New Year and a wonderful 2014.

Alessandra Neri by Ale Simple Recipes

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