Symbolic foods may lead to good fortune.
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Superstition has it that the first day of a new year is symbolic of how the rest of the year will play out. If you sleep late, you’ll do that throughout the year. If you are productive, happy and polite, you will be so for the rest of the year. In the same vein, what you eat on the first day of the year may determine what and how you will eat all year — and may also have a hand in what life may bring your way.
Some foods are said to symbolize abundance and good fortune: black-eyed peas because they are so plentiful; greens because they are the color of money; lentils because they are coin-shaped; cornbread because it is the color of gold; and fish because they swim in schools and their scales look like coins. Pork is said to represent progress because pigs move forward when they eat. Round cakes represent coming full circle and often have a trinket baked in them; whoever gets the trinket will have good luck. Long noodles represent longevity. Round fruits, especially those with lots of seeds such as pomegranates, symbolize fertility and abundance.
In the South they eat Hoppin’ John, collard greens and cornbread in keeping with the saying, “peas for pennies, green for dollars and cornbread for gold.” In Germany and Eastern Europe they eat pork and sauerkraut. In the Philippines they eat 12 round fruits, one for each month of the year. In Spain they eat one grape for each stroke of midnight. In Scandinavia they eat herring. Throughout Asia they eat long noodles, being careful not to break the noodles because that would be bad luck; in Japan it’s udon and ramen, while in China it’s lo mein.
In deciding what to eat come New Year’s Day, you may want to keep these ingredients in mind. Here are 46 recipes that include one or more of these symbols of good fortune.
Jonathan Gold's Hoppin' John
Time 2 hours 20 minutes
Yields Serves 4 to 6
Little Beast's black-eyed pea hummus
Time 1 hour
Yields Makes 3 ½ cups
Black-eyed peas with leeks and chard
Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Yields Serves 6
Sukuma Wiki (Sautéed Collard Greens)
Time 20 minutes
Yields Serves 4
Salad of beet greens with walnuts
Time 20 minutes
Yields Serves 4
Red Beans and Greens
Time 2 hours
Yields Serves 4 to 6
Kuku Sabzi (Persian Greens Frittata)
Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Yields Serves 6 to 10
Salad of dandelion greens, blood oranges, goat cheese and pecans
Time 20 minutes
Yields Serves 4 to 6
Pork belly and greens hot pot
Time 30 minutes
Yields Serves 4 to 6
Rau Muong With Mam Tom (Charred Water Spinach With Shrimp Paste, Pork Belly and Garlic)
Time 15 minutes
Yields Serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side dish
Garlic-Crusted Cornbread
Time 45 minutes
Yields Serves 8
Zynodoa's bruleed cast iron cornbread
Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Yields Serves 8 to 12
Foolproof Pulled Pork
Time 14 hours, largely unattended
Yields Serves 8 to 10
Pork and Pineapple Adobo Roast with Pickled Pineapple Salad
Time 40 minutes
Yields Serves 6 to 8
Badmaash Goan Pork Curry
Time About 4 hours plus marinating time
Yields Serves 10 to 12
Grilled Lemongrass Pork Chops With Radish Nuoc Cham
Time 25 minutes
Yields Serves 4
Instant Pot Hatch Chile Pork Tacos With Kohlrabi Mango Slaw
Time 45 minutes
Yields Serves 8
Pork tenderloin with Concord grape sauce
Time 30 minutes
Yields Serves 4
Thai Pork and Basil With Rice Noodles
Time 25 minutes
Yields Serves 4
Kurobuta pork chops with white bean puree, ham hock jus and salsa verde
Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Yields Serves 6
Buckwheat pasta with kale, potatoes and cabbage (pizzoccheri)
Time 50 minutes
Yields Serves 4 to 6
Mak Kimchi
Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Yields Makes about 3 quarts
Beijing-style pork and cabbage dumplings
Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Yields Makes enough for 3 dozen dumplings, about 6 servings
Lentils with kale and butternut squash
Time 50 minutes
Yields Serves 6
Crisp-skinned salmon with lentils, bacon and dandelion greens
Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Yields Serves 6 to 8
Massimo's Spaghetti With Spinach and Lentils
Time 1 hour
Yields Serves 6
“Blackened” Snapper with Crunchy Pickle Salad
Time 40 minutes
Yields Serves 4 to 8.
Roasted whole whitefish with charmoula and French green lentils
Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Yields Serves 4
Spaghetti with bottarga and fried egg
Time 30 minutes
Yields Serves 4
Cacio e pepe
Time 25 minutes
Yields Serves 6
Cheung sau jai mien (Longevity noodles)
Time 35 minutes
Yields Serves 4
Pho Gà Nhanh (Quick Chicken Pho)
Time 50 minutes
Yields Serves 2
Spicy Chili Crisp Noodles
Time 10 minutes
Yields Serves 4
Sesame Cold Noodles With Crab and Crunchy Vegetables
Time 45 minutes
Yields Serves 4 to 6
Pistachio Pesto Ramen
Time 20 minutes
Yields Serves 2 to 4
Pomegranate and Citrus Salad
Time 15 minutes
Yields Serves 12
Cayenne Cafe chicken with pomegranate-walnut sauce
Time 30 minutes
Yields Serves 4
Winter roast pork with basil pomegranate sauce
Time 2 hours
Yields Serves 10 to 12
Southern Buttermilk Tea Cakes
Time 30 minutes, plus 1 hour chilling
Yields Makes 3 dozen
New Year's Cake (Nian Gao)
Time 2 hours
Yields Makes about 72 slices
Norwegian orange cake
Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Yields Serves 10 to 16
Rosca de reyes (Kings cake)
Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Yields Serves 24 (Makes 2 cakes)
Cranberry orange cornmeal cake
Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Yields Serves 18
Doughnut Holes
Time 30 minutes
Yields Makes about 20
Momed’s Flourless Chocolate Cake
Time 35 minutes
Yields Serves 8 to 10
