New Year’s Recipes to Bring Good Fortune

Andrew Scrivani for The New York TimesRed Lentil Kofta With Spinach
Martha Rose Shulman, the Recipes for Health columnist, is a firm believer in eating foods that symbolize good luck and expanding fortune at the start of the new year.

I love the fact that beans, lentils and greens symbolize prosperity in the new year in places as disparate as the American South and the South of France. I wonder if it’s really because lentils and beans are round like coins and swell when they cook, or if it’s because that’s about all anybody can afford to eat after the excesses of the holiday season.

Here she adapts traditions from around the world to offer five simple dishes to help begin the new year on a happy and healthy note. Look for more New Year’s dishes in the Recipes for Health index.
Soba With Black-Eyed Peas and Spinach: This comforting dish contains good luck charms from all over the globe: soba (buckwheat noodles) is traditional in Japan, black-eyed peas in the American South, and spinach or other greens pretty much everywhere.
Light Lentil Soup With Smoked Trout: This is inspired by a traditional French combination of lentils and fresh salmon.
Albacore Roasted in a Bed of Lettuce: Inspired by a traditional Provençal tuna dish, this version has a lot going for it as a New Year’s dish, what with all the green leaves and the fish – lots of prosperity.
Red Lentil Kofta With Spinach: These bite-size bulgur and lentil balls can be part of a mezze spread — an assortment of appetizers — or they can be served as a side dish.
Baked Giant Limas With Winter Squash and Sage: This dish is luxuriously creamy (though there’s no cream in it) and comforting.