To Life!
FOOD
New Year Recipes
New ideas for Rosh Hashanah emphasize symbolic vegetables.
Annabel Cohen
Special to the Jewish News
A
s is custom for many
cultures, food served
at Rosh Hashanah is
a symbolic means to remem-
ber and affirm, usually sweetly,
the anticipation of a good year
ahead. It also reminds us to
pause and to ruminate about the
12 months just passed.
Round foods — a challah for
instance — are the figurative
circle of life. Fish translates into
being fruitful and multiplying,
with the head of the fish relating
to the head or beginning of the
year.
The meaning of other foods
such as seeds, fruits with many
seeds (pomegranates, figs), car-
rots, and, of course, apples and
honey — each has its rationale.
Seeds of any variety mean abun-
dance and mitzvot (may you
have as many as there are seeds).
Still other foods are served
because their names in languag-
es like Hebrew and Aramaic have
dual meanings. For example,
carrots mean "more." Leeks
mean "cut off,' beets "remove,"
and dates "consume," and relate
to our enemies (just add these
words before "our enemies" and
you get the picture).
This year when you "eat good
food and drink sweet wine,"
remember that holiday food not
only celebrates the New Year, it
is symbolic of our hopes for the
coming year and as a wish to
remove all destructive behavior
from our world.
Spiced Sweet And
Tangy Roast Chicken
16-20 assorted chicken
pieces, with skin and bones
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup honey
Grated peel or zest from
1 orange
1/2 cup chopped red or
Bermuda onions
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2006
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cayenne
pepper (optional)
2 whole cloves
Preheat oven to 400E Place the
chicken pieces in a large roast-
ing pan or disposable aluminum
pan. Brush with olive oil and
season the chicken with salt and
pepper. Place the chicken in the
preheated oven, uncovered.
Meanwhile, combine vinegar,
honey, grated peel, garlic, cumin,
cinnamon and cloves in a medi-
um saucepan over medium-high
heat. Bring to a boil, reduce
heat to simmer and cook,
stirring, about 2 min-
utes.
Open the oven
and brush or
spoon some
vinegar sauce
over the
chicken. Roast
for 30 minutes
more, brush
on remaining
sauce and cook
for about 10
minutes more, or
until tender (do not
overcook — if you'd like
the thigh and drumstick to
cook longer, remove the breasts
and set aside). Keep warm in a
225F oven for up to 1 hour (cover
with foil).
Suzanne's Chunky
Ratatouille
My friend Suzanne Shawn modi-
fied a recipe she found by mak-
ing her ratatouille chunky. I've
modified it a bit further. It's a
healthy and delicious vegetable.
This recipe is easily doubled or
tripled.
1 medium eggplant (1 pound),
unpeeled, cut into
I-inch chunks
2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 Tbsp. sherry wine
I Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
I tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup chopped mild or
Spanish onion
1 red or yellow bell pepper,
cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tsp. minced garlic
Toss the eggplant with the salt
in a large bowl and set aside for
1 hour. Rinse and drain the egg-
plant and return it to the bowl.
While the eggplant is sitting,
whisk together the tomato sauce,
sherry, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar
and crushed red pepper. Set
aside.
Rinse the eggplant, drain and
dry the eggplant on several layers
of paper towel. Set aside.
Heat a large cast-iron or heavy
skillet over high heat until very
hot (if cast iron, until smoking),
about 1 minute. Add 1/2 Tbsp. of
oil and add the bell pepper. Cook
stirring and pressing down light-
ly, until evenly colored. Transfer
to a bowl and set aside.
Reduce heat to medium-high
and add remaining oil to the
skillet. Add the eggplant to the
pan and cook, stirring and press-
ing down lightly, until begin-
ning to char and soften, about
2-3 minutes. Add the onion and
cook, stirring, until softened
and beginning to brown, about 4
minutes. Add the garlic and cook,
stirring, for 1 minute longer.
Stir the tomato sauce mixture
and add it to the pan. Cook,
stirring, until thickened, 1 to 2
minutes. Stir in the reserved bell
pepper. Transfer to a serving
bowl and let cool. Serve at room
temperature. (May be made up to
5 days in advance).
Roasted Garlic, Red
Pepper and Lemon
Broccoli
1/4 cup chopped fresh garlic
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 pounds broccoli, cut into
spears, stems trimmed to
about 2-inches
1 red or yellow bell
pepper
Kosher salt and
fresh grated pepper
to taste
2 Tbsp. fresh
grated lemon or
orange zest or
peel
Preheat oven
to 350F. Put gar-
lic and olive oil in
a small bowl and
stir well to combine.
Transfer this mixture
to an ovenproof dish
or bowl (a ramekin works
well) and cover the dish with foil.
Cook for 30 minutes. Remove
from oven to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, cook broccoli and
bell pepper in a steamer set over
boiling water until it is al dente,
about 5 minutes (or microwave
on high, in a plastic wrap-cov-
ered dish for 3 minutes). Chop
the bell pepper. Arrange the
broccoli on a serving platter and
drizzle with the lemon juice.
Season with salt, and pepper, and
sprinkle with the roasted garlic,
red pepper and grated zest. Serve
warm or at room temperature.
Makes 10-12 servings.
Foil Roasted Minted
Dilled Potatoes
2 lengths heavy-duty foil (about
24 inches long each), stacked
4 pounds small new potatoes
or redskins (peeled or
unpeeled), sliced into
1/8-inch rounds
1/4 cup olive oil or melted butter
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves,
chopped
1/4 cup fresh chopped shallots
' 1 Tbsp. dried dillweed
I tsp. minced garlic
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350E Lay
stacked foil on a clean surface.
Place the potatoes in large
bowl. In a small bowl, stir togeth-
er remaining ingredients. Drizzle
this mixture over the potatoes
and toss the potatoes to coat.
Place the potatoes in a line down
the center of the foil, allowing at
least 4 inches of uncovered foil
at each end. Season the potatoes
with salt and pepper. Bring up
the sides of the foil and fold them
over the potatoes. Roll up each
end to seal the package.
Bake packages in the middle of
the oven for 1 hour (may be kept
warm in a 225F. oven for 1 hour).
Remove from heat, allow to cool
for 1 minute and transfer the
potatoes to a serving dish. Makes
8-12 servings.
5-Ingredient
Noodle Kugel
This simple dairy kugel is fool-
proof and endlessly adaptable
— simply add a cup or two of
your favorite ingredients —
dried fruits, drained pineapple or
chopped apples or pears.
1 pound wide egg noodles dry,
cooked according to package
directions, al dente
2 cups cottage cheese
2 cups sour cream
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup sugar
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a
9x13 baking dish with nonstick
cooking spray. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine all the
ingredients and pour the mix-
ture into the prepared pan. Bake,
uncovered, for 50-60 minutes,
until golden and the custard is
set. Makes 20 servings.