They’re not only lucky, but delicious.
My family blended New Year’s traditions.
My dad grew up in the South, and he likes to have black-eyed peas on the table.
Erin Alderson
And my family is super-duper lucky.
We’re all healthy and we eat fabulous food.
I can only wish the same for you.
Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer
They’re also darned tasty.
Often Hoppin' John includes pork, another lucky food.
Southern Style Collard Greens
Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas
Why collard greens?
Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer
The reason I’ve always heard is that they’re green, resembling paper money.
I’d like to think they’re good luck because they’re so dang good for you.
Mustard or turnip greens fit the bill as well.
Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas
Braised with a ham hock, they offer a luxurious potlikker for dunking your cornbread in.
For a faster-cooking vegetarian version, try theseeasy collard greens.
Smoked turkey wings give it a leaner profile without sacrificing depth.
Simply Recipes / Sharee Hill
Bake this rustic cornbread to round out your Southern New Year’s trifecta of black-eyed peas and collards.
It makes a fine meal any time of year.
You’ll even see it on buffets at big catered New Year’s Eve parties in the Midwest.
Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas
The saying goes that pigs root forward, symbolizing your year moving ahead into high gear.
Sauerkraut
Simply Recipes / Melanie Tienter
8.
Spareribs, Cabbage, and Sauerkraut
For the optimal pork and sauerkraut experience, cook them together.
Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas
The mingling of the porky juices with the piquant kraut is a thing of beauty…flavor-wise.
It’s not very pretty, but so many of the best foods aren’t.
The two ingredients have an affinity for each other in this hearty lentil stew.
Simply Recipes / Melanie Tienter
Smoky Lentil Stew
Simply Recipes / Erin Alderson
Leave out the sausage for a plant-based New Year’s luck.
The smoky flavor here comes from smoked paprika.
There were a dozen of us, and we had marathon board games and sessions of hide-and-seek.
Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer
There’s no one definitive vasilopita recipe, and many families have their own cherished version.
This moist clementine cake would make a fine host for that coin.
It’s also okay tobreak the pomegranate apartless dramatically.
Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer
Once you’ve cleaned up, de-seed the rest of the pomegranate and make this salad with golden beets.
The salad itself isn’t Greek, but it’s so colorful it would be welcome on any table.
In any case, no one turns down donuts, do they?
Simply Recipes
In Scandinavia, pickled herring at midnight rings in the new year.
In many Asian countries, whole fish symbolize abundance.
Simply Recipes / Cambrea Gordon
Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer
Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
Simply Recipes / Uyen Luu