The Easiest, Worry-Free Rosh Hashanah Menu

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These recipes are simple to make, and incorporate lots of color, nutrients, and flavor.

You don't need to make this entire menu; consider it a starting point and narrow down to what you like and have time for.

Challah

Esty Wolbe's Famous Challah

Made by thousands of women for Shabbat every week. It's just the right amount of sweetness, a soft and doughy consistency, with a rich flavor. The dough rises well and is easy to work with, not too sticky to braid. You can make it round and add raisins, in honor of the Rosh Hashanah tradition!

Dough

  • 4 tablespoons Gefen Dry Yeast or other active dry yeast
  • 5 cups warm water
  • 2 tablespoons plus 1 cup sugar, divided
  • 5 pounds high gluten flour, plus more as needed
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 cup Gefen Honey
  • 1 and 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

Prepare the Challah

Yields 6 challahs

  1. Combine dry yeast, warm water and two tablespoons sugar in a glass bowl and set aside to proof 10 minutes.
  2. In a very large bowl, combine almost all of the flour with remaining sugar and salt. Add the eggs, honey and oil. Mix well.
  3. Once the yeast is proofed, add to the flour mixture and mix until all ingredients are well incorporated. Transfer dough to working surface and knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour as needed.
  4. Return the dough to the large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Set aside to rise for an hour and a half in a warm, draft-free spot.
  5. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  6. Uncover the dough and "take challah" (read more on hafrashat challah here) then portion and braid your challahs. Allow to rise 10 minutes then egg wash, sprinkle toppings and bake about 45 minutes.

Note: Allow to cool completely before storing.

Tip: Use leftover challah dough – or set some aside – to make cinnamon buns!

Fish Course

Roasted Salmon with Maple Glaze

The short and dazzling flavor lineup does its magic with only 6 ingredients and practically no work. You will never say you are bored of salmon again!

Main ingredients

  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons Gefen Soy Sauce
  • 3 tablespoons Haddar Dijon Mustard or other Dijon-style mustard
  • 3 tablespoons toasted Gefen Sesame Oil
  • 1 tablespoon cracked pepper, or less to taste
  • 1 whole side salmon, about 3 pounds, skin off, bones out, trimmed (see note)

Prepare the Salmon

  1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix all but the salmon in a bowl.
  2. Place the salmon skin-side up in a baking pan just large enough to fit it snugly in one layer (if you have empty spaces, the liquids will burn).
  3. Pour the sauce evenly over the fish. Bake 18 minutes, or a minute or two longer, until the fish is tender but firm to the touch.
  4. Transfer to a platter and pour the cooking juices over the fish. Serve hot, or at room temperature.

Tip:

You will notice on the outermost side of each salmon half a flat, opaque strip, which runs the whole length of the fish: It is very fatty and not meaty and contributes nothing but a greasy, fishy taste. Have no mercy, cut it all off and discard it: You are not wasting it, you are saving the salmon. PS: Sushi restaurants use that part of the salmon to great advantage, but you are not a sushi restaurant and are not equipped with their knowledge and quality control, so please don’t go there and order it in a good sushi restaurant instead!

Soup Course

Warming Cabbage Soup

Served hot and delicious, this meaty cabbage soup is easy to prepare and rich with flavor.

Main ingredients

  • 2 large white sweet onions
  • 3 packages checked and shredded green cabbage
  • 1 jar vodka sauce
  • 2 (15-ounce) cans Gefen Tomato Sauce
  • 2 cups Heaven & Earth Ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup sugar or sugar substitute
  • 8 rounds of marrow bones

Make the Soup

  1. Peel and cut onions in half and slice into half rings. Add to the pot.
  2. Add the cabbage, sprinkle with the salt, and toss to combine ingredients. Add vodka sauce, tomato sauce, and ketchup. Mix well.
  3. Add the sugar and bones. Fill pot with water. Stir one more time and set to cook on high flame. When soup bubbles lower to medium flame and let cook for two hours or more.

Mains: Roast and Capons

Silver-tip Roast with Roasted Butternut Squash

This easy and delicious no-fail roast is a win-win for any Yom Tov table.

Main ingredients

  • 1 3-pound silver tip or chuck roast
  • coarse salt
  • coarse ground Gefen Black Pepper
  • 2 teaspoons oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 medium carrots, cut into 1/2 inch dice
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 1/2 cup Heaven and Earth Pomegranate Juice
  • 2 cups chicken stock or Manischewitz Chicken Broth
  • 1 small butternut squash, cubed (approximately 3 cups)

Prepare the Roast with Roasted Butternut Squash

  1. Rub salt and pepper very well all over the meat. In a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot heat the oil and add the meat. Sear the meat well on each side for about five to seven minutes. Remove the meat.
  2. Add the diced vegetables and garlic and sauté for about seven minutes until translucent.
  3. Add the meat back to the pot and add the juice and stock. Cover and let simmer for two to three hours.
  4. The last 45 minutes, add the diced butternut squash.
  5. Slice the meat when cold.

Note: This recipe freezes great.

Capons Stuffed with Rice

The capons look so incredibly regal on the plate and are beyond easy to make. The sautéed vegetables mixed with the rice and cooked in the juicy chicken meat is the best combination! Reserve some of the veggies for the rice side dish below!

Main ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons oil
  • 1/4 red onion, diced
  • 1/2 green pepper, diced
  • 1/2 yellow pepper, diced
  • 1/2 red pepper, diced
  • 3 mushrooms, diced
  • 1 and 1/2 cups cooked rice
  • 5 capons
  • 3 teaspoons Manischewitz Honey
  • 1 cup flavored bread crumbs, such as Gefen Bread Crumbs

Prepare the Stuffed Capons

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

  2. Heat the oil, then add the vegetables and sauté until onion is translucent. Add the rice and mix together.

  3. Spoon some rice onto a capon. Roll it up and place in a pan or oven-to-table dish. Repeat with the remaining pieces. Pack them tightly together to prevent them from opening up while baking.

  4. Drizzle the honey over the capons and sprinkle the bread crumbs on top.

  5. Bake uncovered for an hour and 15 minutes.

Note: This recipe freezes great.

Sides

Rice with Roasted Veggies and Pomegranate Seeds

For the colors alone it’s worth it to make this dish! It’s so vibrant and pretty you won’t want to eat it; you'll want it as a centerpiece for your table. But once you taste it you won’t be able to stop! Use some of the veggies for the capons above.

Main ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons oil, such as Gefen Canola Oil
  • 1 red onion, diced
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • 1 yellow pepper, diced
  • 1 green pepper, diced
  • 1 box mushrooms (approximately 10 ounces), diced
  • 3 cups cooked rice
  • pomegranate seeds

Prepare the Rice Dish

  1. In a large skillet heat the oil and add the vegetables. Sauté for about 10-15 minutes, stirring every so often until the onions are translucent. You don’t want the vegetables to get too soggy.
  2. Mix with the rice.
  3. Toss with pomegranate seeds before serving.

Note: This recipe freezes well.

Onion Leek Tart

Main ingredients

  • 3 teaspoons oil
  • 2 leeks, washed well and diced
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed or 3 cubes Gefen Frozen Garlic
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons Gefen Mayonnaise
  • salt, to taste
  • pepper, to taste
  • 1 pie shell such as Gefen Deep Dish Pie Crust

Prepare the Onion Leek Tart

  1. In a sauté pan add the oil and heat it. Add the leeks, onions, and garlic and sauté for a good 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are very soft.
  2. Let it cool for a bit and mix with the eggs, mayonnaise, and seasoning. Pour into a pie shell and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Note: You may have some extra batter. It freezes amazingly, or I like to make small doughless tarts for myself.

Many people incorporate the Rosh Hashanah simanim, symbolic foods, into their cooking. Leeks are one of those foods, and are perfect in this easy onion leek tart.

Blood-Orange Pomegranate Salad

This bright and vibrant salad is packed with citrus flavors and the Vitamin C is just a bonus!

Salad

  • 1 10-oz. bag mesculun salad mix
  • 1 cup pomegranate arils
  • 2 blood oranges, peeled and sliced
  • 1/2 cup candied pistachios, crushed

Dressing

  • juice of 2 blood oranges
  • 2 tablespoons plum wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons Gefen Honey
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
  • 2 tablespoons Bartenura Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Prepare Topping and Dressing

  1. To make candied pistachios stir 3 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon water, and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Add 1/2 cup shelled pistachios and stir to coat. Spread on a baking sheet and bake 8 minutes till nuts are crispy.
  2. Mix together all dressing ingredients. It should yield about 1 cup of dressing.

To Serve

This salad looks great on a wide plate with the salad layered on the bottom, pomegranate arils and pistachios sprinkled on top and the blood orange slices placed before serving. Drizzle the dressing in a zig zag across the dish.

Tip:

You can also do this with individual plates of salad on a smaller scale.

Desserts

Apple Crumble Cake

Lots of people don't care for the flavor of honey cake- try this Apple Crumb Cake instead!

Cake

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup oil
  • 1 cup milk (I used almond, such as Gefen Almond Milk, to keep it parve)
  • 3 cups flour
  • 3 teaspoons Haddar Baking Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Gefen Cinnamon
  • 2 eggs

Crumbs

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Gefen Cinnamon
  • 1/3 - 1/2 cup oil
  • 1 medium apple, peeled and diced small

Prepare the Apple Crumble Cake

  1. a bowl, mix all the cake batter ingredients together. Pour into a very well greased tube pan. (I used a bundt and kept the cake upside down.)
  2. In a separate bowl, mix together the crumbs ingredients. You want it to have the consistency of wet sand, so if it’s dry just add some more oil.
  3. Sprinkle the apple crumbs on top of the batter.
  4. Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Note:

This recipe freezes well.

Apple and Honey Granita

This is so easy, you won't believe it! Even better, it's a great project that your little kids can help you with!

Main ingredients

  • 1 (24 ounce) jar Gefen Unsweetened Applesauce
  • 3–4 tablespoons Gefen Honey
  • pomegranate seeds, for garnish (optional)

Prepare the Granita

  1. Pour applesauce and honey into a large baking dish. Freeze overnight or until solid.
  2. Then, using a fork, scrape until granita becomes flaky and fluffy shaved ice.
  3. Serve in individual cups and top with pomegranate seeds if desired.
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