Tag: rosh hashanah recipes

Herbed Apple & Date Salad

I was lucky enough to spend the last week of the summer in Israel to join a close friend in celebrating a Bar Mitzvah (full itinerary to be posted after the Chagim!), but also for some inspiration for both my body (food!) and soul. What’s amazing about Israel is that you don’t have to seek those things out – they find you. Whether you’re going to the kotel for Friday night prayers, or taking a stroll through the shuk – beauty – in the form of soulful connections, culinary delights, Jerusalem stone, artisan creations, magical energy – surrounds you.

One such culinary delight that I found repeatedly in various forms – is this delicious herb salad. With loads of fresh parsley, crunchy celery, some kind of dried fruit (usually raisins) and nuts (often pecans or walnuts), the salad was simply dressed and so refreshing! I knew when I took my first bite that I needed to create a Rosh Hashanah version, and here it is!

Shana Tova! – to a SWEET New Year indeed.

Herbed Apple & Date Salad

1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
3 stalks celery, diced small (use the leaves as well!)
1 green apple, peeled and diced small
4 medjool dates, pitted and diced small
1/3 cup roasted and salted sunflower seeds
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp silan
juice of 1/2 lemon
kosher salt, to taste

Related Recipes:

holiday salad with apple & honey vinaigrette
pomegranate coleslaw
roasted beet salsa

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Simanim Plov

I’ve been working on so many recipes for #yeswecanchag initiative including this sheet pan chicken and tzimmes, this 6-spice Moroccan stoup, and this Israeli couscous with beef.  My fellow bloggers and I also got together and created THIS MENU of bonus budget-friendly recipes! I hope these recipes help you scale down your cooking this Chag while still bringing showstopping dishes to the table!

A few weeks ago, I traveled to Denver, Colorado to host a cheese-board-building demonstration at The Jewish Experience 20th annual wine & cheese event. The event was set up beautifully, and they even served my Mile High S’mores Pie in the Mile High City to celebrate, how fun?!

Since the demonstration was late in the week, I stayed in Denver for Shabbos at the home of Rabbi & Mrs. Zeldy Engel of Chabad Cherry Creek. Zeldy was so warm and welcoming, and she happily took me around the neighborhood hot spots, even driving out to Red Rocks for a breathtaking and scenic view of the mountains.

Zeldy prepared many of my cookbook recipes from her well-worn copy of Millennial Kosher and her sister’s recipe for Moroccan fish that smelled like actual heaven. But the star of the Friday night meal was PLOV. Zeldy hosted two Bucharian sisters, Aliza and Sharona, who came over earlier in the day to prepare this labor-intensive dish. By Friday night, the smell was intoxicating, and the huge pot was painstakingly transferred onto a huge round platter in middle of the table. Not only was the dish beautiful, it’s flavor was absolutely mindblowing – savory, spicy, with a hint of sweetness from the carrots and heat from the jalapenos. As I was eating it, my mind started wandering in a million directions on how I could “trash it up” (as I like to say!) and put my own spin on it. Wish Rosh Hashanah approaching, I thought it would be a great idea to incorporate some of the simanim, or symoblic foods that we eat on Rosh Hashanah, so I replaced the onions with leeks, and the jalapenos with apples, and finished it off with pomegranate seeds for a colorful one-pot-meal worthy of your holiday table. Yes. We. Can. Chag!

Simanim Plov

6 tablespoons light olive oil
3 large leeks, white and pale green parts only, sliced
2 1/2 lbs. beef stew, short ribs, flanken or cut of choice
salt and pepper, to taste
3 cups rice
2 lbs. carrots, julienned into thick strips
3 tbsp cumin seeds (may sub with ground cumin)
1 cup raisins
1 head garlic
5 small apples
2-3 whole jalapenos, optional
2 tsp kosher salt
pomegranate seeds and parsley, for garnish

In a large nonstick pot (see note), heat the oil. Add the leeks and sauté until deeply caramelized, about 30 minutes. Add the beef, season with salt and pepper, and sear on all sides, about 25 minutes. Cover the meat completely with water, bring the mixture to a simmer, cover the pot and cook for 2 hours, until the meat is very soft and tender. Add more water, if needed so that the meat remains submerged.

When the meat is done cooking, place the rice in a large bowl and cover with boiling water by 2 inches. Cover the rice and set aside to soak.

Spread the carrots around over the meat in an even layer. Sprinkle with cumin seeds and raisins. Sprinkle with ground pepper. Nestle the head of garlic, apples and jalapenos, if using, into the mixture.

Strain the rice in a colander and return it to the bowl. Mix with 2 teaspoons of salt and add the rice to the pot so that it full covers the layers in one even coating. Using the back of a wooden spoon, poke deep holes (about 10 of them) into the rice so that steam and liquid can escape and cover the pot. Cook over medium-high heat for the first 20 minutes, stirring the layer of rice every 10 minutes and poking holes into it (only the rice, don’t stir the layers beneath it), replacing the lid immediately after stirring. Lower the heat to medium and continue to cook the rice for another 10-20 minutes, stirring again every 10 minutes until it’s fluffy and cooked through. If there doesn’t seem to be enough liquid in the pot, and an additional cup or two, as needed.

Remove the lid and cover the pot with a kitchen towel, and cover again with the lid to steam for 10 minutes.

When ready to serve, transfer the rice onto a large platter, place the apples around the rice, then mix the remaining ingredients in the pot so they are full incorporated. Spoon the mixture over the rice and garnish with pomegranate seeds and parsley.

NOTES:

It’s best to use a cheap nonstick pot and not a heavy dutch oven when making plov.

The meat portion can be prepared the night before. Refrigerate overnight, then bring to a simmer, making sure that the meat is generously covered with liquid, adding more if necessary. Then continue as above.

Related Recipes:

hummus simanim
simanim fritto misto
simanim pasta
simanim holiday salad

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Apple Honey Mustard Salmon

This recipe came to me last week when I was preparing my salmon and I’m so glad it did because it’s JUST. SO. PRETTY!! I definitely have a thing with decorating a side of salmon, and I love how the apples resemble fish scales!

I think a memory a lot of us have of Rosh Hashanah from our childhood is that moment when the fish head was brought to the table and WE. HAD. TO. EAT. IT.!! It always smelled awful and that fish eye just stared at us, as if to say, you killed me and now you’re going to have to eat me!!! I still have nightmares from those fish heads. Nightmares!!!

When people ask for recipes for the fish head, I usually just tell them that no recipe is going to make anyone want to eat it so just throw tons of lemon on it and stick it in the oven! Most of the fish stores have been storing the fish heads all year, so they’re definitely not fresh, and you can smell it a mile away. I don’t know what’s worse, the eyeball staring back at me or the smell coming out of it!

That’s the thing about fish that people don’t realize – it really should never smell like fish! It should smell like the ocean. If your fish smells fishy, it’s probably not fresh and it will probably taste fishy after you cook it. Moral of the story – BUY FRESH FISH. And don’t try and get fancy with your fish head ‘cuz nobody wants to eat it anyway.

But this here? This is the fish that you WANT to serve. It’s the dish that everyone is going to OOH and AHH over. And you’re going to be feel like a gourmet goddess for pulling it off. At least, until, we pass the fish head around!

May we all be blessed to be like the head, and not the tail this year!

 

Apple Honey Mustard Salmon

2 lb. side of salmon
1/3 c apricot jam
2 tbsp whole grain mustard
2 tbsp Dijon
2 tbsp honey, plus more for drizzling
salt and pepper, to taste
1 red apple, seeded and thinly sliced
1 green apple, seeded and thinly sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the apricot jam, mustards, honey, salt and pepper. Brush the mixture generously over the salmon. Decorate the salmon by overlapping the apples, alternating between red and green until the salmon is covered. Drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice and honey. Bake, uncovered for 25 minutes, basting once with the pan juices during cooking.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

NOTE: I prefer this recipe served fresh, but if you want to prepare it a day ahead, you can serve the next day at room temperature (reheating cooked salmon tends to make it fishy and dry).

 

Related Recipes:

honey fish roasted salmon
salmon en croute with creamed leeks
honey sriracha salmon
honey mustard salmon

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Golden Milk Carrot & Apple Soup

I wait all summer to put on a granny sweater and whip up a warm mug of golden milk! The healthy drink, sometimes called Turmeric Tea, stems from India, where they add fresh turmeric to warm milk for it’s anti-inflammatory properties.

Golden milk is the Westernized version of the Ayurvedic drink, popularized by bloggers worldwide. The immune boosting drink usually includes:

coconut milk
black pepper
cinnamon
turmeric
ginger
raw honey

To get the most health benefits out of the tea, fresh and whole spices are used and the honey is added at the end, without heating. With curcumin from the turmeric, piperine from the black pepper, and MCT’s from the coconut milk, golden milk is said to improve memory, relieve joint pain, improve blood pressure, reduce LDL cholesterol and prevent cancer!

With Rosh Hashanah around the corner, I decided to incorporate my favorite winter drink into a Simanim-filled soup and the results were absolutely delicious! I think adding apples + apple cider to my soups is my new thing – a burst of apple in every bite!

Now I think the only thing better than the health benefits of Golden Milk is adding carrots – our parents always told us it was good for our eyesight, right? And don’t they say that an “Apple a day keeps the Dr. away?” Golden Milk just got an upgrade.

The New Year is looking extra sweet.

Golden Milk Carrot & Apple Soup
YIELD: approximately 10 cups

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large leek, white party only, thinly sliced (2 cups)
2 1/2 lbs. carrots, peeled, trimmed and roughly chopped
3 McIntosh apples, peeled and roughly chopped
4 c vegetable stock
2 c apple cider
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2” knob of fresh ginger, grated
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup coconut milk, plus more for garnish, optional
1-2 tbsp honey

Method:

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot. Add the leeks and saute until softened. Add the carrots, apples, stock, cider, turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, salt and pepper and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook until the carrots are soft, about 30 minutes. Blend with an immersion blender and add the coconut milk and honey, to taste (depending on sweetness). If the soup is too thick, add water, stock or more apple cider until desired consistency is reached.

To serve, swirl in coconut milk and add a drizzle of honey, freshly ground black pepper and a cinnamon stick, if desired.

NOTE: if you don’t like coconut or you have an allergy, leave it out and add more stock, cider or water.

This soup may be frozen.

Related Recipes:

curried carrot and sweet potato soup
roasted butternut squash, shallot and apple soup
cream of leek soup

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Lemon Grilled Leeks with Crispy Panko

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: leeks are an underrated vegetable. Thankfully, they are one of the symbolic foods that is customary to eat on Rosh Hashanah, so once a year people actually take the time to pay attention to them!

Leeks are buttery soft when braised, crispitty crunchy when fried and smoky when grilled. In a word: they are versatile. And I’m so happy to share this method + recipe with you!


First, let us consider that since Rosh Hashanah is so early this year, we can still make use of our grills, and if you don’t have one, there’s still time to savor some al fresco dining. PC Richard & Son has everything you need for outdoor grilling – like these Traeger grills that I’m personally hoping to upgrade to, and some more affordable Weber models. I’ve been grilling so much this summer and I can honestly tell you that there’s nothing quite like it. You keep the mess outdoors, the food is full of flavor and meals come together in minutes. It’s a win-win.

I’ll tell you what else is a win-win: the combo of lemony leeks with a hint of sweet honey and garlicky crispy crumbs makes this humble vegetable the star of the holiday table. It also makes the perfect side to some braised brisket, a leg of lamb or grilled rib eye steak. So lets get grillin!

Lemon Grilled Leeks

5 leeks
3 tbsp grapeseed oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper, to taste
honey, to taste
crispy panko crumbs, recipe follows

Method:

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.

While the water is boiling,  prepare the leeks. Cut off the upper portion of the leeks, keeping the white and pale green portion at the bottom. Cut off the opposite end, as close to the root as possible. Peel off the tough outer layers. Cut the leek in half vertically. Wash the leek thoroughly, carefully peeling back the layers to clean the dirt on the inside.

Fill a bowl with ice water; set aside. Place the leeks into the pot of boiling water and blanch for 4 minutes. Remove the leeks with tongs and place into the ice bath. Once cooled, drain and pat dry thoroughly.

Preheat your grill to medium heat.

In a small bowl, combine the oil, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Brush the mixture over the leeks, coating on all sides. Place the leeks on the grill and grill for 3 minutes on each side.

Place the leeks on a platter and drizzle lightly with honey. Top with crispy panko crumbs.

NOTE: If you don’t have a grill you can also roast the leeks in the oven. To do so, skip the blanching, brush the leeks with the oil mixture and roast in a 425 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes, or until tender and caramelized.

VARIATION: For added spice, drizzle the leeks with hot honey. To prepare, add honey to a pot with sliced fresh chilies. Simmer for 1 hour, strain and cool.

Crispy Panko Crumbs

3 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh thyme
1/2 cup panko crumbs
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp lemon zest

Method:

Heat olive oil in a frying pan set over medium heat. Add garlic, cook until softened. Add thyme and panko crumbs; sauté until crisped and golden. Remove from heat. Add lemon zest, salt and pepper.

This post is sponsored by P.C. Richard & Son. All opinions are my own.

Related Recipes:

salmon en croute with creamed leeks
roasted smashed potatoes with leeks
cream of leek soup

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