Traditional Lenten Recipes

[phoenikia]

Would love to hear about any traditional Lenten recipes you might like to share.

So far, I've got lots of recipes for lentil soup and fish dishes.

Would be especially interested in hearing about Lebanese, Georgian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Armenian, Greek, Spanish & Russian recipes.

Thanks for any of your suggestions.

[emilyr]

I decided this Lent to try to make more real recipes for Lent this year. My mom doesn't really like fish except for tuna and was raised on tuna/potato chip casserole every week. My little brothers were really picky, so we had things like spaghetti with tomato sauce only, cheese pizza, mac and cheese, and of course fish sticks.

This year for Ash Wednesday I made a chick pea curry. This was a double goal for me. I'd never cooked chick peas before and had a similar dish at an Indian restaurant a couple of weeks ago. I sauteed veggies in oil, added lots of curry powder with extra cumin and ginger, then added a can of diced tomatoes and soaked chick peas. Brought to a boil then simmered for a couple of hours.

Friday this week, I just threw together a vegetarian chili. I never made it before, but had to go out before it was tie to eat and when I came back, there wasn't any left, so I guess it was pretty good. Corn, beans (2 kinds), green chiles, onions and rice in a crock pot with lots of chili spices, cumin, and tomatoes.

Someone on another thread here said she tried to make dishes from countries that her Catholic charities supported, to make a connection with those less fortunate, and I may try that, but it could be hard to get ingredients in my town. I'm going to do the best I can.

[chuchelo]

I can suggest a great cookbook for just this time of year -- When You Fast... Recipes for Lenten Seasons by Catherine Mandell. It's published by St. Vladimir's Seminary Press and comes out of the Orthodox tradition which is much more strict when it comes to fasting than my own Catholic tradition.

[annabelle]

I'd like to bump this topic since Lent is upon us.

[annabelle]

I'm making tuna casserole because it's easy and I have a busy day today.

I would like some ideas. Thanks all!

[andiesenji]

I really haven't done much about Lent in the past couple of decades.

One dish I remember fondly, and still prepare on rare occasions, is noodles with buttered bread crumbs and stewed prunes.

I don't know how this basically German recipe migrated to western Kentucky, but this dish was served on a large platter with the noodles tossed with the buttered bread crumbs and noodles heaped in the center and the prunes around the perimeter of the pile of noodles.

In our family it was a side dish when we had fried fish (catfish, or "pan" fish).

Edited February 25, 2012 by andiesenji (log)

[annabelle]

My youngest son is getting Confirmed in April, so we are doing a lot of Church related activities to prepare. Like you, Andie, I haven't ever made much of a deal about Lent except when my other boys were getting Confirmed and that was a while back.

Needless to say, linguine and clams are good. Fish sticks, not so much.

Noodles and prunes? That sounds almost like a sweet kugel kind of thing. And tasty, too!

[heidih]

Some things I vaguely remember:

Baked eggs set in a bowl of creamed spinach

Crepes (Palatschinken) - served with butter (margarine..) and jam

Mixed vegetable soup made with a light roux and fortified with chewy dumplings of flour, egg and milk

[kayb]

Not sure how proper to the season it is, Memphis being much more Protestant, but Calvary Episcopal Church's annual Lenten Luncheon and Preaching series is a must-do for many in the Mid-South area. Some of the favorites include a shrimp in aspic, a "fish pudding" (which I could never bring myself to try; it looked horrible), and chicken-and-waffles, a chicken hash over waffles. I alternated between the shrimp in aspic and the waffles.

[heidih]

I forgot about the discussion here regarding the fish dinners that are put on during this season. Not a Lenten recipe of course but it might be fun to mimic one at home.

[annabelle]

Fish cakes, in the English style, are popular here at our house. I get tired of frying fish and no one will eat lentils, the Phlistines.