Recipes
Much of Orthodoxy in the home centers around the kitchen. While the Icon Corner is the primary ‘altar’ of the Domestic Church, the kitchen and dinning table may be a close second. Orthodox cultures from around the world have developed recipes to thank God, to remind us of eternal life during times of grief, and to help make the celebration of Saint’s lives fun.
Here are some of the basic recipes for the Domestic Church. Times of feasting or times of fasting, both are meant to recall our mind to God!
St. Phanourios Cake Vasilopita King's Cake
The bread for Holy Communion in our parishes is not made in factories, but is ideally an offering from our Domestic Churches. Many people have become afraid of making bread, hearing that yeast is tricky and are scared to take on something so important. But there is no reason why you can’t learn the basics of working with yeast dough and move up to making Prosphora (prahs-for-ah, which means “offering”).
Here’re some pages to get a handle on learning how to make bread in general.
Here’s a page all about making prosphora, and which sells the ‘seal’ needed to make the Offering Bread.
It is very appropriate to make the bread especially in thanksgiving for prayers answered or a great blessing which God has given us, or on our Slava, Nameday, or just on the Feast of a saint whom we love.
Before making the bread learn from your priest whether or not your parish uses five small loaves or one large loaf (the same seal is used for both, generally. They come with the larger seal on one side, and the smaller on the other). The five small loaves are in memory of the five loaves which Our Lord blessed to feed the thousands, the one loaf represents the oneness of The Church. Both are venerable traditions.
Prosphora
Koliva - Memorial Wheat
The second most common recipe the Domestic Church Cook is called to make will be koliva. Koliva is a boiled wheat dish sweetened with honey, sugar, vanilla, or candy and often mixed with dried fruits, candy, pomegranate pips, and nuts. It is served at Memorials, Funerals, Soul Saturdays and Slavas, and often on Feast days, such as Christmas. The history of it is here.
There are probably as many koliva recipes as there are Orthodox Christians. Some are soupy and spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, some are dry and covered with graham cracker crumbs and jordan almonds. We’ll link to a variety of recipes so you can find your favorite.
We have heard that it is important to not mix the sugar and the wheat until it is just to be served because it will make the wheat tough. I do not know if this is true, but we’ve never risked it just in case. When bringing the koliva to your parish make sure your priest is expecting it. There will usually be a table set up near the front of the temple to set it upon. Place a candle in the koliva, it will be lit by the altar servers or deacon before the Memorial.
We do not put candles in the koliva made for Saints’ days, including our Slavas.
Romanian Style Koliva A Video About Making Koliva
Greek Style Koliva Russian Style Koliva
In the Japanese Orthodox Church Koliva is made with rice.
Slava Bread or Slava Cake
Slava Bread or Slava Cake is a sweet bread used in the celebration of our family patron saint. It is often elaborately decorated on the top with symbols which represent prayers the family has for the coming year, but should always be topped with a cross, for Christ, and a braid, for the Trinity. The Four C's seen on some Slava Cakes are a symbol of Serbian unity, so other symbols may be more appropriate for non-Serbian Orthodox.
If your Slava falls during a Fasting period, meat is not served, though fish and oil are acceptable.
Here's the recipe for Slava Bread. For fasting periods you replace the butter with margarine.
Saint Phanourios Bread
At the following website you can find the story behind St. Phanourios (Fah-noo-ree-us) and find both fasting and non-fasting versions of his bread. Because St. Phanourios’ icon was lost and then rediscovered he is the saint we ask to find our lost items. When he finds them we make his bread, giving it away to others while telling them about Christ and St. Phanourios, and offer prayers for the repose of the saint’s mother, who was an avid sinner.
Here is a more detailed story, and the recipes for the bread.
Vasilopita, or St. Basil's Bread
Vasilopita, which means Basil’s Bread, is a loaf of bread made in honor of St. Basil’s day, which is January 1st, the day on which he died in 379AD. Inside the loaf of bread is a coin. After the Divine Liturgy on the 1st, or during dinner that evening at home, the bread is blessed and everyone gets a slice. The one who has the coin in their slice gets to be the king for the day, is lucky for the year, or maybe just gets to choose what’s for dinner tomorrow.
Here’s the story of St. Basil interceding for his people during a heavy tax, and the recipe for the bread.
King's Cake
In the West Theophany is called “Epiphany.” While a Theophany is a manifestation of God (and the Holy Trinity was made manifest in Christ’s Baptism) an Epiphany is a realization or revelation. In the West the last day of Christmas, the twelfth day, celebrates the Three Magi worshipping the infant Christ, that is, the gentiles having a revelation or realization about God.
The tradition of King’s Cake developed, similar to Vasilopita a coin (or sometimes, a figurine of the infant Christ) is baked into the sweet bread and the one who gets the coin in their slice wins a special prize.
Nameday Bread
On our Nameday, the Feast of the Saint whose name we bear, we ought to attend Liturgy if at all possible and receive Holy Communion. Many families allow the celebrant to choose what to have for dinner (and dessert!) but they are also the one who has to serve everyone else first! Some families have the celebrant do a good deed for others on that day, as you can read about in the blog post with the recipe for Nameday bread.
Nameday bread is (yet another!) sweet bread that we eat on the day of the feast. Find a food-allergy sensitive version, and a traditional recipe, here.
Pascha Breads
Breads made at Pascha have always been very rich, no matter the culture (and almost every culture has one). Feel free to explore the options no matter your heritage, and if it’s not listed here, don’t be afraid to search it out!
Speculaas
A light, spicy cookie traditionally made in Germany made for St. Nicholas Day. Even those who don't like gingerbread may like these. They are not fasting cookies, but could be made so by using margarine instead of butter. This is our family's recipe:
1 Cup (2 sticks) sweet butter, at room temperature
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
Zest of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, waiting until the first egg is entirely mixed before adding another. Add the lemon zest.
Sift the spices, baking powder, and salt into the flour, and gradually add to the liquid ingredients. Form into a disc, wrap plastic cling wrap and chill in the fridge overnight.
The next morning after Liturgy, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and, on a floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch. Cut into shapes relating to St. Nicholas, or cut into circles and stamp with an Artos St. Nicholas Stamp (scroll very far down to find stamps). Bake very carefully, only until lightly browned around the edges. About 7 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Lucy Cat Buns (Lussekatter)
This is the recipe from the back of the book Lucia, Saint of Light. I highly recommend the book for families with children, it's a beautiful story and outlines just how to celebrate this saint with liturgical prayers, the life of the saint, a song and this recipe.
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
8 ounces (1 cup) milk
1 tablespoon yeast
1/2 cup sugar
4 ounces (1 stick) butter
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1 beaten egg white for egg wash
Using a mortar and pestle, pound saffron threads to break down strands. In a small saucepan, heat milk to lukewarm. Mix yeast with 1/4 cup milk and 1 tablespoon sugar. Set aside.
On low heat, melt butter in saucepan with milk. Add crushed saffron. Let cool. In large bowl, mix together flour salt and remaining sugar. Stir yeast into cooled milk mixture. Mix into dry ingredients, beating to mix well. Add beaten eggs. Knead in bowl for 5 - 7 minutes. Turn onto floured board and knead another 7 - 8 minutes. Put dough in lightly greased bowl, turn to coat all sides, cover and put in warm, draft-free place to rise for about 1 hour.
When dough has risen, knead lightly to push out air and divide into small pieces (about 10 - 12). Using the hands, roll each small piece into a strip about 8 - 10 inches long. Shape each strip into an 'S' or a figure 8. Place on lightly buttered cookie sheets. Cover with clean cloth and let rise again until double in bulk, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Preheat oven to 375°F. When dough has risen, brush lightly with egg white. Bake in preheated 375° F oven for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool on wire rack.
A Word on Fasting Recipes
Fasting can be one of the hardest parts of living an Orthodox Christian life. Nevertheless it is also one of the most beneficial. You can read many stories of people finding beauty and sanctity in fasting, even in our modern age.
Some like to say now that they are fasting from gossip, anger, lust or other sins, and since that is more important they don’t need to fast from foods. The Fathers don’t speak this way. Others simply replace their milk, butter, and meat with almond milk, margarine, and soy meat. While that might be alright for special occasions that fall during the fast remember too that fasting should be less expensive, not more, than our regular diets so that we can donate more money to the poor.
With the popularity of the vegan diet growing, it has never been easier to find good meals that are perfectly Lenten, or even to find Lenten ingredients in the grocery store. For the sake of your soul do not neglect this aspect of Orthodoxy but embrace it, and see what God can do in you.
The strict fast during fasting periods is to abstain from all meat, dairy, eggs, olive oil, and red wine. Speak with your priest if you have never fasted before, and he can help ease you into it. Often the first step will be to not eat meat, then to not eat dairy, and so on until one is able to do the whole fast. Do listen to your priest on this matter - sometimes doing less than the full fast by order of our priest is the best lesson in humility rather than to jump right in.
Parents should decide when their child is old enough to start fasting, but are urged not to put too heavy a burden on their children at too young an age. Pregnant women and nursing women are traditionally forbidden from fasting.
The Fasting periods are Advent, which begins November 15th (Forty Days before Christmas), the Apostle’s Fast, which begins the Monday after the Feast of All Saints until June 29th, the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul, the Dormition Fast, which begins on August 1st, two weeks before the Feast of Dormition which is August 15th, and Great Fast, which begins 40 days before Pascha. Every Wednesday is a fasting day, for this is the day Our Lord was betrayed by Judas, and every Friday, for this is the day he died. Certain feast days are also fasting days, such as the Beheading of John the Baptist or the Feast of the Cross.
Here are several very good vegan recipe websites.
Chocolate Covered Katie (Mostly vegan desserts)
Pinterest (A 'bookmarking' site, but many Orthodox share recipes and spiritual practices, just search for either)
Oh She Glows (Award winning vegan website)
Healthy Happy Life (Great recipes and reviews)
Lenten Meal Planner (One Orthodox Mom's guide to organizing meal planning during Lent)
Lenten Meals (Recipes gathered from an Orthodox parish)