14 Dishes From Around the World for Good Luck in the New Year
Try cooking Hoppin' John, Kiribath, and Oto to bring joy, comfort, and the promise of a fresh start.
Whether they are eating 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight in Spain or polishing off a marzipan pig in Germany, people around the globe celebrate New Year’s with culinary traditions in hopes of bolstering good fortune in the months to come.
The culinary traditions enjoyed at midnight on New Year’s Eve all the way through New Year’s Day often represent wealth in some way: Italians eat lentils which look like gold, the black-eyed peas in Hoppin’ John represent coins. Read on for some of the world’s favorite dishes to cook for New Year’s brunch, lunch, or dinner to bring joy, comfort, and the promise of a fresh start.
Soup Joumou
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Shell Royster
Soup Joumou is a Haitian stew made with beef, vegetables, squash, and rigatoni that is commonly eaten on New Year's Day. In this recipe, the beef gets marinated in Epis, a powerful aromatic flavor base made of shredded bell pepper, scallion, onion, and garlic. Soup Joumou is served in honor of the anniversary of Haiti’s freedom from French Colonial rule after the successful rebellion of 1804. This recipe is so significant that it has been placed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
Kiribath with Lunu Miris (Coconut Rice with Sambal)
Kiribath is a dish of fragrant coconut rice diamonds topped with spicy red onion sambal that is traditional to Sri Lanka. Lunu miris, the sambal paste, is made by mashing peppers, shallots, lime and other ingredients in a mortar and pestle. "Kiribath is one of the most auspicious foods in the Sinhalese culture (the culture of the majority of Sri Lankans),” says Yasmin Sabir, an Australia-based food writer and recipe developer. “It signifies new beginnings and prosperity — it's often given as a baby's first solid food, and it's customary for it to be the first thing cooked when you move into a new house."
Hoppin’ John
This cozy Southern classic has roots in the African diaspora and the Gullah people of the Carolinas, and is traditionally served on New Year's Day for good luck. . It is made with black-eyed peas stewed with a ham hock, aromatics like celery and onion, spices, and greens and is served over rice. Some communities prefer a vegan Hoppin’ John like the one Charleston chef Kevin Mitchell makes. The black-eyed peas themselves are said to ensure prosperity for the coming year since they resemble coins, and the greens are the color of money.
Atlanta-based chef Todd Richards spices up his family's recipe for Hoppin’ John with harissa. "What I always loved about my great-aunt's Hoppin' John was how spicy it was,” says Richards. “Her version had a good amount of crushed red pepper flakes and black pepper. My recipe leans on harissa to bring an earthy heat; it's a perfect match for the meaty black-eyed peas in this dish."
Longevity Noodles
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
While eaten on Chinese New Year, the date of which varies, Longevity Noodles are one of the most beloved to celebrate new beginnings. The history of Longevity Noodles dates back to the Han Dynasty and the long noodles symbolize a long life, prosperity, and new beginnings. The recipe for Longevity Noodles was historically passed down between generations. This recipe was first published in Food & Wine in 1999, and was developed by the late cookbook author Eileen Yin-Fei Lo. It features bouncy long egg noodles, bean sprouts, and fresh snow peas.
Oto (Mashed Yam Patties)
Puna yam (not to be confused with sweet potato) is the star of this Ghanaian dish often served on auspicious days like New Year’s Day, births, or wedding celebrations. Starchy puna yams are cooked with brown sugar, mashed, and formed into patties and fried. Each patty gets topped with a soft cooked egg. "Hugely symbolic in many cultures around the world, the egg represents life itself,” says cookbook author Zoe Adjonyoh. “Oto, the vehicle in Ghanaian cuisine for the humble egg, is the dish by which new beginnings are celebrated. It's a great way to celebrate the new year and new possibilities."
Soft Pretzels
Julia Hartbeck
In Germany, and in German communities around the world, doughy soft pretzels are eaten on New Year’s Day for good luck. They’re typically enjoyed as breakfast and can come salted or glazed with sweet icing. While some New Year’s soft pretzels are braided into stunning sculptures or intricately braided, we love a classic pretzel stick like these from 2002 F&W Best New Chef Grant Achatz.
Pomegranate Seeds
While we should all be eating pomegranate seeds around New Years since they are in season and most delicious, the jewel-like seeds of this juicy fruit are typically enjoyed at midnight on New Years in cultures from Mediterranean countries like Greece and Turkey. In Greek culture, pomegranates are hung by the door between Christmas and New Years, and then at midnight on New Years Eve, the pomegranates are smashed — the more seeds that fly out onto your floor, the better your luck for the next year.
Learn How to Cut a Pomegranate
Champagne
Perhaps the most widely known New Year’s tradition is to pop a little bubbly. Whether you’re opening Champagne, Cava, Prosecco, or any sparkling wine at midnight, the chorus of popping corks as the clock strikes midnight is heard around the world.
Tamales
Cornbread
Often enjoyed as a part of a New Year's Day feast, cornbread’s bright gold color signifies prosperity in the year to come. Since this tradition is typically seen in the South, it’s also often served alongside Hoppin’ John to sop up all the delicious stew. This quintessential skillet cornbread from chef Carla Hall has crispy edges and a fluffy, buttery interior.
Lentil Soup with Smoked Sausage
At midnight on New Year’s Eve, Italians eat lentils. The tradition dates back to Roman times, when people would give lentils to loved ones at New Year’s. The small legumes resemble small coins and symbolize riches in the year to come. Lentils are often consumed right at midnight and are served with pork sausage. This lentil and sausage soup is smoky, creamy, and comforting.
Whipped Cream
Switzerland’s New Year’s culinary tradition is in some ways, not so culinary. In Swiss homes, it's tradition to drop a dollop of whipped cream on the floor at the stroke of midnight. Don’t have any whipped cream? Ice cream works, too. Embrace the chaos; it signifies good luck.
Collard Greens with Black-Eyed Peas
This simple braised greens gets its savory depth from canned chipotles in adobo sauce. They’re salty, smoky, and a little spicy. In the South and Southern Appalachia, collard greens are a classic accompaniment to black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day since their green color evokes money, and eating them is meant to ensure a prosperous year to come.
Buttered Bread
In Ireland, New Year’s traditions are all about ensuring food for the year ahead. Dinner on New Year’s Eve is typically a big feast, and New Year’s Day is all about buttered bread. It is historically called The Day of Buttered Bread, where families would exchange bread and butter sandwiches with neighbors, and some children would even deliver slices of bread from house to house in exchange for pennies. We need no excuses to slather this sweet and salty compound butter laden with parmesan and corn kernels on bread, but we’ll gladly eat it on January 1
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