4 min read
3 min read
11 min read
5 min read
Add these delectable recipes to your Rosh Hashanah table.
We approach Rosh Hashanah, the Day of Judgment, with hope and joy, and we eat sweet foods as an omen for a sweet new year.
Here are a few dishes to add to your Rosh Hashanah table.
SIDE DISHES
Roasted Carrots
Adapted from Martha Stewart.
It’s an ancient tradition to eat carrots at Rosh Hashana because the Yiddish word for carrot, meren, means “to increase”—and we want all good things to increase during the year
Think of this as an alternative to the traditional stewed carrot tzimmes. The roasting brings out the carrots’ natural sweetness. You don’t even need to add the honey though it’s nice on the New Year.
Peel and quarter carrots. Lay on sheet of baking paper. Drizzle oil and honey add spices
Bake in preheated oven for 475 F or 245 C until tender and eat right away.
Rosh Hashanah Rice
This dish is inspired in part by my Hungarian born Mom who regularly teams rice and prunes and my Indian born Mother in law who turned curry into my favorite spice. It’s easy to make and tinted yellow, it looks lovely on the plate.
Heat oil, add raisins and prunes, rice and spices.
Saute together for about 2 minutes .
Pour the water on top.
Lower the pan and simmer until water cooks out (18 minutes)
MAIN COURSES
Apple Honey Chicken
Adapted from Joan Nathan, “Quiches, Kugels and Couscous” My Search for Jewish Cooking in France.
This dish which incorporates both apples and honey is an old Rosh Hashana favorite among the Jews of Metz France.
Preheat oven to 375 F or 190 C
Rub spices into chicken
Place the chicken in large roaster. Add onion chunks or shallots, garlic cloves, wine and chicken broth
Bake covered for 45 minutes.
Add apples and bake for 30 minutes longer
Remove lid. Bake uncovered for 10 minutes
Honey Gedempte Fleisch
(Old fashioned Pot Roast)
A Jewish classic. Simply the most savory and flavorful pot roast around. Add honey for a special Rosh Hashana touch.
Combine the spices and the honey and rub them into the beef for the flavor to penetrate
Heat a heavy saucepan. Add a tablespoon of oil and brown the meat on all sides.
Add onion and garlic. Continue browning on medium heat for 10 minutes
Cover, add 2 cups water and cook on low heat for 2 and 1/2 hours or until the meat is tender.
Turn the meat frequently adding water as needed. (there should be an inch of water under the roast at all times)
Slice and serve with gravy. Serves 8. Freezes well.
DESSERTS:
Aunt Lilian’s Apple Cake
From “Inside the Jewish Bakery,” by Stanley Ginsberg and Norman Berg.
For years I’ve been searching for the consummate apple cake, light and fluffy and full of apples. This is it. Heavenly.
Preheat oven to 350 F or 175C
Mix apple pieces with sugar and cinnamon and set aside to absorb the sugar
Sift dry ingredients together
Using an electric beater beat eggs until thick and light yellow. Add oil and sugar and blend thoroughly.
Add flour mixture one cup at a time alternating with the orange juice (or soy milk) blending thoroughly between additions.
Spray three loaf pans or one bundt pan or tube pan with Pam.
Pour 1/3 batter into your pan. and then arrange 1/3 of the apple pieces. Repeat until finished
Bake for 50-60 minutes in a rectangular pan or 60-70 minutes in a tube pan. A tester will come out moist because of the apples.
Yum. Freezes well.
Wine Poached Pears
From Arthur Schwartz “Jewish Home Cooking”
Because the Yiddish name for pears fruchtbarren connotes fertility (bearing fruit) some Jews make a point to serve them at the Rosh Hashana table. These lovely purple tinted pears pears are a refreshing treat after a heavy meal. Cover tightly and your pears will keep in the fridge for weeks. Arthur Schwartz says that the left over syrup added to seltzer makes a delicious drink.
Peel the pairs leaving the stalk intact. (No need to core or seed )
Boil together sugar, water and wine.
Insert peeled pears. Simmer together for an hour turning the pears from time to time so that they can soak up the color.
Refrigerate in tightly covered container and serve very cold.