`Everyone looks forward to the Rosh Hashanah meal,” says Janet Kaplan, owner of Cheesecakes by JR Dessert Bakery in Chicago. “It comes only once a year, it’s a wonderful feast and a big production.”
But not everyone can spend days in the kitchen preparing for the feast.
Thanks to an armload of new cookbooks, there’s an alternative to calling a caterer and collapsing from culinary exhaustion. It’s possible to prepare a festive, from-scratch Rosh Hashanah dinner with all the taste in half the time.
How?
By cooking ahead and by using updated recipes that make full use of contemporary kitchen equipment, as the Rosh Hashanah menu here shows.
A round challah may be baked weeks in advance, frozen and thawed the day it is to be served. The salmon gefilte fish calls on the food processor for preparation and the oven for baking, sidestepping the traditional grinding, hand shaping and poaching.
Both chicken soup and matzoh balls may be prepared in advance and refrigerated–which also allows for skimming the fat from the chilled soup. The brisket, marinated and roasted in an oven-safe bag, is sliced and refrigerated a day before. This not only gives the cook a head start but also allows the brisket time to mellow and intensify in flavor.
The traditional carrot, sweet potato, potato and prune tzimmes is made in advance and refrigerated, which also benefits flavor.
The apple-honey cake may be made the day before, leaving only a seasonal vegetable to prepare at dinnertime.
For more recipes and menu ideas for Rosh Hashanah, consult the following recent books:
“Fast & Festive Meals for the Jewish Holidays,” by Marlene Sorosky
“Everyday Cooking for the Jewish Home,” by Ethel G. Hofman
“The Low-Fat Jewish Cookbook,” by Faye Levy
“The Sephardic Kitchen,” by Rabbi Robert Sternberg
“Mother Wonderful’s Profusely Illustrated Guide to the Proper Preparation of Chicken Soup,” by Myra Chanin
NEW YEAR’S MENU
Sliced red and green apples with honey
Round challah
Salmon gefilte fish
Chicken soup with matzoh balls
Brisket in wine sauce
Tzimmes
Brussels sprouts with garlic-crumb topping
Apple honey cake
SALMON GEFILTE FISH
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Yield: 16 servings
Adapted from “Fast & Festive Meals for the Jewish Holidays,” by Marlene Sorosky. This streamlined baked gefilte fish sidesteps much of the work–grinding, shaping and poaching–of the traditional version.
2 medium onions, peeled, cut into chunks
5 carrots, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 stalks celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup parsley sprigs
1 pound salmon fillets, skinned, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 pounds white fish fillets, such as cod, sole or red snapper, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons each: salt, freshly ground pepper or to taste
Lettuce leaves, cooked or pickled carrot slices, horseradish for garnish, optional
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. To prepare fish, mince onion in food processor fitted with metal blade; remove to very large bowl. Process carrots, celery and parsley until ground. Add to onions. Process salmon until ground. Add white fish, a piece at a time, through feed tube, until ground. Put into bowl with vegetables. Mix eggs, oil, sugar, salt and pepper in food processor until smooth. Add to bowl and mix well.
2. Put mixture in ungreased 13- by 9-inch glass baking pan. Bake, uncovered, until firm to the touch, about 1 hour. Cool. May be refrigerated, covered, up to 2 days, or frozen.
3. Cut into squares. Place on lettuce leaves; garnish with carrot slices and horseradish. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories …… 175 Fat ……….. 10 g Cholesterol .. 70 mg
Sodium ….. 350 mg Carbohydrates .. 7 g Protein ……. 14 g
BRISKET IN WINE SAUCE
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Marinating time: 2-4 hours and overnight
Cooking time: 3-3 1/2 hours
Yield: 10 servings
Adapted from “Everyday Cooking for the Jewish Home,” by Ethel G. Hofman. This classic holiday dish is made in advance, as much for flavor as convenience.
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup each: dry red kosher wine, ketchup
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 brisket trimmed of excess fat, about 4 pounds
1. Dust large oven roasting bag with flour. Add wine, ketchup, onion and garlic to bag; mix to combine. Add brisket. Tie bag and place in roasting pan. Marinate in refrigerator, turning brisket occasionally, 2 to 4 hours.
2. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Bake brisket in bag until meat is easily pierced with a fork, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Let stand 20 minutes; slice and arrange in baking pan. Pour gravy from bag over meat. Cover; refrigerate overnight.
3. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Skim fat from top of meat and sauce. Bake, covered, until heated through, 20 to 25 minutes.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories …… 320 Fat ……….. 15 g Cholesterol .. 110 mg
Sodium ….. 375 mg Carbohydrates .. 9 g Protein …….. 35 g
APPLE-HONEY CAKE
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Yield: 10 servings
Janet Kaplan, owner of Cheeseckaes by JR Dessert Bakery in Chicago, says this updated version of honey cake is a favorite with customers as well as family.
4 medium Granny Smith or Golden Delicious apples
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons each: packed brown sugar, honey
1/2 cup (1 stick) plus
2 tablespoons melted butter, margarine or non-dairy margarine
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon each: salt, ground nutmeg
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla
1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Peel and chop 3 of the apples. Beat 1/2 cup of the brown sugar and honey and 1/2 cup of the butter or margarine together in bowl of electric mixer until light and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add eggs; beat until incorporated.
2. Sift together 1 1/2 cups of the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg in medium bowl. Gradually add to honey mixture; beat until smooth. Mix in chopped apples, walnuts and vanilla.
3. Pour batter into lightly greased 9-inch springform pan. Slice remaining unpeeled apple; place slices slightly overlapping on batter around edges, leaving center open. Combine 3 tablespoons of the flour, 2 tablespoons of the butter or margarine and 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar in small bowl; mix well with fork or with hands. Sprinkle in center of batter. Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Remove cake from pan.
4. Warm 2 tablespoons of the honey in small saucepan over medium heat, adding a drop of water if necessary to thin slightly. Brush apple slices with warm honey.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories …… 410 Fat ………… 20 g Cholesterol .. 75 mg
Sodium ….. 260 mg Carbohydrates .. 55 g Protein …….. 7 g
