By now, the tradition to prepare for the New Year thematic salad, adding it in the form of one of the signs of the eastern horoscope 12-year cycle.
2015 is the year of Sheep (or Goats), so we are preparing a salad in the form of a lamb for the New Year. True, the New Year begins on the Eastern calendar not on January 1, but on February 19 (at 03 hours 45 minutes), so you can prepare such a salad for any of these dates or to each.
Goat or Sheep of this year symbolizes a certain element that carries with it green and blue tones, therefore, laying out a mosaic image in the form of a lamb, you can use products of colors and shades of green scale (peas, cucumbers, young olives, kiwi, etc.). Also products of white color (egg, rice, cottage cheese, mayonnaise, etc.) can approach. There are practically no harmless natural dyes. In general, in the nature of the skins of lambs there are still black and white and brown shades.
New Year's salad "Sheep"
Ingredients:
- fresh mushrooms (champignons, white, oyster mushrooms) - 300-400 g;
- onion - 2 pcs .;
- oil for frying;
- boiled chicken meat;
- pickled cucumbers - 3-4 pcs.
- cooked rice - 2-3 glasses;
- dark olives without pits;
- hard cheese;
- mayonnaise ;
- the greens are different.
Preparation
For the first layer. Peeled and finely chopped onion lightly fry in a frying pan over low heat, then add chopped finely mushrooms and fry all together, stirring with a spatula, for 5 minutes, after which we extinguish under the lid for about 15 minutes (oyster mushrooms can be eaten, they are edible and even more useful in raw form).
For the second layer. Chicken meat is sliced as small pieces as possible, as well as pickles (well, if you have a chopper or a kitchen processor, a combine that cuts the products into calibrated small pieces).
For the top layer we use boiled friable rice, we will also grate the cheese on the grater and use olives (they can be cut in half or cut into smaller pieces, so that it would be more convenient to work with the laying out of the figure).
We build the salad layers. We spread the products in the form of lamb in profile. First, the onion-mushroom mixture, we make a "net" of mayonnaise on top and spread it with a spatula. The next layer is meat with pickled cucumbers, on top again a mayonnaise "mesh" and level. The top layer, that is, the muzzle, legs and ears spread out of olives, the body - from rice with mayonnaise and grated cheese (you can add a little onion-mushroom mixture or chopped greens). On the side of the legs spread the greens, as if a sheep graze on the grass. You can imagine some flowers. Involve children from 5-6 years old to decorate New Year's salad, they will definitely be interested in participating in the preparation of such an interesting dish.
According to the Orthodox tradition, the Christmas Eve, beginning November 28, 2014, ends on January 6, 2015.
Given the taste preferences of fasting and vegetarians, you can prepare for the New Year salad "Sheep" without meat. In the Orthodox version, we replace meat with chopped salted fish (salmon, mackerel) or canned in oil (sprats, herring, mackerel and the like). Canned fish should be kneaded with a fork and mixed with a small amount of boiled rice and cucumbers. Cucumbers in this case it is better to use fresh.
For very strict vegans and fans of Ayurvedic cuisine, you can use not only boiled rice and olives, but also ghee or oil seasoned with spices (ghee oil), homemade cheeses, cottage cheese, and boiled legumes,
As for laying out layers and decorating a New Year's vegetarian salad: include imagination, and everything will turn out the best way.