Easy recipes for Brazilian-style New Year's Eve dinner

For many people, Christmas and New Year's Eve are the best time of the year. And rightly so: It's the time when we gather our friends and family, decorate the house, exchange gifts, and of course eat a lot!

Although traditions change according to region and family, some foods work as wild cards during the holidays. That's why those who are looking for practicality in the end-of-the-year rush should invest in easy recipes for the New Year's dinner. There is no need to spend hours in front of the stove, nor to go to the market to search for expensive ingredients that are hard to find! It's best to bet on classic dishes that everyone likes.

This doesn't mean that you have to abandon the roasted ham or fish that is a tradition in your house. In today's article we bring you quick and tasty preparations to make your supper, and awaken the affective memory of your guests. Let's go?

Starters to brighten up

No potato chips and ready-made snacks! The New Year's Eve dinner, as simple as it may be, deserves a canapé, a stuffed bar, something different to call the New Year. Finger food entrees are meant to open the event, but not necessarily the meal itself.

So here you can use a variety of pâté recipes to fill barquets and tartlets. Don't forget to include a vegetarian option, to contemplate all the guests. To not go wrong, go for eggplant with ricotta or olive pâté. Write this down

• 1 teaspoon pitted green olives;
• 1/4 teaspoon water
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil; seasoning to taste (basil, parsley, chives?)
• 2 tablespoon of cream cheese or mayonnaise

In a blender or with a mixer, blend the olives, the water, and the olive oil until they form a small paste. Season with salt and other seasonings, add the cream cheese or mayonnaise, and mix well until smooth. Because it is veggie and light, it can be used as a filling in the barquette, or with toast.

Besides canapés, baked cookies are a good option. There are easy recipes for the New Year's Eve meal that go in the oven, such as the tuna dumpling. It is prepared with 3 tablespoons of oat bran; 1 can of tuna (discard the water); 2 tablespoons of cream cheese and oregano to taste. Mix everything until it becomes uniform. Shape the dumplings and bake them in a preheated oven at 180º for 15 minutes. Others can be made in the air fryer, like this potato dumpling with cheesefor example.

Lucky dish

Eating lentils on New Year's Eve is a very common superstition in homes all over the world. Legend has it that the beans resemble ancient Roman coins, hence the power to attract fortune and prosperity for those who taste them in the early hours of the new year.

As one of the easy recipes for the New Year's meal, it cannot be left off your menu. To prepare the lentil, you will need:

• 2 teaspoons (approximately 400 g) of cooked lentils;
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil;
• 150g of bacon, chopped
• 1/2 a piece of chopped calabrian sausage;
• 1 onion, chopped
• Salt, black pepper and chopped chives to taste

Start by frying the bacon and the sausage in olive oil; add the onion and saute. Then add the cooked lentils, the olives, the green onion, the salt, the pepper and mix. Let it simmer for a few more minutes, correct the salt, and it's done! Serve it close to the time of the New Year's Eve, with rice and farofa.

A Brazilian classic

If there's a time when salpicão reigns supreme, it's at the end of the year! Because it is one of the easiest recipes for the New Year's dinner, it appears in parties in various versions. There are vegetarian and vegan options, low-calorie, and even oven-ready, if you want to innovate.

However, the real classic is the chicken "salpicão " - with raisins, yes! Easy to prepare, the dish is served cold, and goes well with a leafy salad. Let's go to the ingredients:

• 1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1 can of green corn
• 2 red and 2 yellow bell peppers cut into thin strips
• 2 stalks of celery, cleaned
• 2 large carrots, grated on the coarse grater
• 200 g chopped ham
• 1 green apple peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 box of cream
• 1 pot of mayonnaise
• Salt and olive oil to taste
• 1 package of potato chips (optional)

In a pan, cover the chicken with water, and cook it with the seasonings of your choice. When the chicken is ready, discard the water and shred the meat well. Place it in a large baking dish and add the ingredients (except the potato chips). Mix well, correct the salt, and refrigerate until dinner time. When it's time to serve, top with the potato sticks.

Sweeten the new year

Just like the pepperoni and the lentils, the pave is a guaranteed presence at Christmas and New Year's Eve dinner. And, of course, there is always someone who waits all year to make the "pavê or pacumê?" joke.

This recipe for Champagne Biscuit Pav ê yields a lot, but it needs to be prepared the day before. It takes 395ml condensed milk; 495ml milk; 200g champagne or cornstarch cookies; 1 tbsp cornstarch; 3 egg whites; 3 egg yolks; 300g heavy cream and cocoa powder to taste.

In a saucepan, add 395ml regular milk and the cornstarch; mix well with a wire whisk. Add the egg yolks and stir again. Take it to medium heat and add the condensed milk, mixing until it thickens and loosens from the bottom of the pan. When it reaches the point, turn off the heat and let it cool. Meanwhile, put in a bowl the egg whites and the heavy cream. Mix it and set it aside.

Assembling is simple, and can be done together with the children in the family! In a baking dish, place a layer of the egg yolk cream. In another container, soak the cookies in the remaining 100ml of milk, and cover the cream in the baking dish with a layer of soaked cookies. Repeat the layers, interspersing cream and cookies, until all the cream is gone. Finish with the whipped cream and heavy cream. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12 hours.

Finally, when it's time to serve, sprinkle the powdered chocolate generously over the pave. If you want to spice it up, add granulated chocolate or cocoa nibs, it's delicious! Even that friend of the pavé's joke will eat it with his hands all over it.

Guarantee your dinner with tranquility

If you organize, you don't get tired or bored. To escape from the rush of shopping and the lack of products in the markets, you can count on the practicality of our virtual store. We are the Brazilian online marketplace that ships worldwide, and has a safe and efficient refund policy.

Besides the ingredients for your recipes, take advantage of the shipping costs to order the drinks for your supper. We have an excellent variety of wines and sparkling wines from Casa Valduga, an award-winning Brazilian winery from the South region. For those who enjoy national flavors, you can compose the menu with Guaraná Antarctica, Maguary juice, and other Brazilian classics.

Make organization and practicality your New Year's resolution: access the store and start shopping! And see you next year...