This week, four holidays and one solar eclipse collided, with a rarity that felt like the festive equivalent of getting struck by lightning. President\u2019s Day kicked off on Monday and then, due to a rare calendar alignment, on Tuesday Lunar New Year and Fat Tuesday coincided, while Ramadan and Lent began Wednesday and will both continue throughout the next month.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m using the confluence as a means to appreciate some of the world\u2019s most introspective practices in which food is often at the center.<\/p>\n
A few L.A. businesses seem tailor-made for the occasion when Lunar New Year and Mardi Gras intersect, such as New Orleans-themed restaurant Little Jewel of New Orleans, which is located in the heart of Chinatown. Scores of local restaurants are diving into their respective festivities with special menus and events<\/a>. <\/p>\n But the thrill of folding dumplings or frying beignets at home is calling.<\/p>\n Lunar New Year is a time for renewal and reflection, with food often used to help usher in good fortune, longevity and unity<\/a>. Dishes such as dumplings can signify wealth, while long, unbroken noodles aim to welcome long life. Whole dishes, such as whole fish or whole chicken, can symbolize togetherness.<\/p>\n Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, is a holiday to let the good times roll. The pre-Lent feast is celebrated with revelry and, especially in New Orleans, some of the country\u2019s most iconic dishes<\/a>. This is a time for rich, decadent meats, desserts, fried snacks and other bites that, once consumed, can help prepare the mind and body for Lent\u2019s 40 days of more austere dining, restraint, repentance and reflection. Those observing Lent might avoid meat every Friday or throughout the week until Easter, but there are unlimited satisfying vegetarian<\/a> and pescatarian<\/a> recipes to fit the holiday menu.<\/p>\n Fasting from dawn to sundown<\/a> during Ramadan, Islam\u2019s holy month<\/a>, is intended to focus attention on spirituality, gratitude and prayer. A predawn meal of suhoor is meant to fortify and hydrate the body, mind and soul before the day of fasting begins, while iftar breaks the fast<\/a>.<\/p>\n Whether you\u2019re dining during daylight hours or sundown, or whether you\u2019re celebrating longevity or introspection, here are recipes to welcome or honor each of the holidays.<\/p>\n Eating out this week? Sign up for Tasting Notes<\/a> to get our restaurant experts\u2019 insights and off-the-cuff takes on where they\u2019re dining right now.<\/p>\n Golden Bag Chicken Dumplings With Thai Sweet Chile Sauce for Lunar New Year<\/p>\n Bamboo chef Marie Surakul can make thousands of dumplings for her restaurant\u2019s guests during Lunar New Year, and here she shares her recipe for a spin on her family\u2019s Thai chicken dumplings with a sweet-spicy dipping sauce. \u201cThe dumpling name in Thai means bag of money,\u201d she told The Times<\/a>, \u201cso we made them as a family in Thailand to add some lucky charm into our prayers.\u201d Both the filling and the sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated, making this an excellent recipe for prepping in advance. (Mariah Tauger \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n New Orleans-Style Beignets for Mardi Gras<\/p>\n Biting into a pillowy, powdered beignet still fresh from the fryer is one of life\u2019s finest pleasures, and there\u2019s no time like Mardi Gras to indulge in one of New Orleans\u2019 most famous dishes. This recipe is adapted from one by chef Bryan Gilmore of the Creole Creamery in New Orleans, and provides essential tips for frying these doughnuts to a perfect golden hue. (Glenn Koenig \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Slow-Roasted Salmon with Dill and Lemon Salsa Verde for Lent<\/p>\n For many who observe Lent, fish on Fridays is traditional \u2014 though some eschew meat for the full 40 days. But this recipe from former L.A. Times Cooking columnist Ben Mims fits the bill year-round, covering roast salmon with a dilly, freshly made Italian-style salsa verde for a quick, easy-to-assemble meal that\u2019s both healthful and flavorful. (Silvia Razgova \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n Tharid (Arabian Meat and Vegetable Stew Over Crispy Bread) for Iftar<\/p>\n Tharid, a version of fatteh, is a dish often served during Iftar due to its hearty nature. This version from chef, author and food historian Anissa Helou can substitute more-ubiquitous markouk or lavash for the flatbread regag, which can be harder to purchase in the U.S. (Kristin Perers \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You are reading our Cooking newsletter Sign up to get a taste of Los Angeles \u2014 and the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":609657,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,44954,44962,44957,44960,44956,3043,44953,6276,2961,224,2444,5337,11148,44961,44959,44955,44958,6620],"class_list":["post-609656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-caribbean-recipe","tag-curry","tag-dish","tag-good-caribbean-restaurant","tag-hot-sauce","tag-hour","tag-jerked-catfish","tag-l-a","tag-la","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-times","tag-losangeles","tag-minute","tag-restaurant-expert","tag-scotch-bonnet-pepper","tag-spice","tag-spice-courtesy","tag-time"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116118136422603797","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=609656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609656\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/609657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=609656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=609656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=609656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Get the recipe.<\/a>
Cook time: 2 hours. Makes 20 dumplings.<\/p>\n![\"Thai](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771822048_620_.jpeg\")
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Get the recipe.<\/a>
Cook time: 30 minutes. Makes 3 dozen beignets.<\/p>\n![\"131905.FO.1220.food.8.GMK.](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771822048_48_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Get the recipe.<\/a>
Cook time: 45 minutes. Served 4 to 6.<\/p>\n![\"Dill](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771822050_773_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Get the recipe.<\/a>
Cook time: 2 hours and 15 minutes. Serves 6 to 8.<\/p>\n![\"Tharid](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771822051_974_.jpeg\")
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