Shana Tovah!
Rosh Hashanah Recipes & Reads
Dear friends,
Tomorrow begins Rosh Hashanah and I wanted to wish those of you who celebrate the holiday a very happy, healthy and peaceful new year. Let’s hope for a much better 5781! In the spirit of my fictional characters who enjoy cooking and baking, I thought I’d share a few Rosh Hashanah recipes below.
If you’re looking for a Rosh Hashanah story, you can hear me reading “Three Strikes” (from The Book of Jeremiah) on The Other Stories podcast, followed by an interview with Ilana Masad.
What I’ll be reading over the holiday (aside from my machzor): I’m almost finished with one award-winner, The Last Watchman of Old Cairo by Michael David Lukas (winner of the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature), and after that I’ll turn to what I’m sure is a future award-winner, Hidden Valley Road, which came out earlier this year by my college friend Robert Kolker.
Here are a few great recipes for a sweet new year:
Challah - I’ve made plenty of different challah recipes over the years, but I discovered a winner earlier in the pandemic, thanks to Tami Arnowitz’s “Let’s Challah” Zoom sessions at Westchester Jewish Center. Due to the time difference I couldn’t join the actual Zoom session, but I followed the link to the challah recipe, and discovered it originated with my friend Yona Goldman, right here in Modiin. Definitely a winner!
Chicken with Dried Fruit and Almond Stuffing (from The Gourmet Jewish Cook)
1 whole chicken
2 onions, coarsely chopped
1/2 c dried apricots, coarsely chopped
1/2 c pitted prunes, coarsely chopped
1/2 c almonds
1/4 c golden raisins
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp dried tarragon
1/2 tsp dried thyme
salt & pepper to taste
Saute the onions in olive oil until transparent, about five minutes. Sprinkle half of the onions onto a foil-lined large shallow roasting pan and set it aside. To the onions in skillet, add the apricots, prunes, almonds, raisins, cinnamon, tarragon, thyme, salt and pepper, and saute for five to ten minutes, mixing well. Once cooled, stuff the chicken with the onion mixture. Place the chicken, breast side down, on the onions in the broiler, and sprinkle any leftover stuffing around the chicken. Roast for 30 minutes at 375 F / 185 C. Turn the chicken over and continue roasting for another 30 minutes, or until well-browned and crisp.
I’m not a huge apple or honey cake fan, so for dessert I’ll try:
Carrot Cake - credit to my colleague Ahuva Hazan Fuchs
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
1 ½ cups oil
3 cups grated carrots
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoons cinnamon
¼ tspt salt
4 eggs
In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, oil, and eggs. Add the rest of the dry ingredients. Finally, mix in the grated carrots. Split between 3 loaf pans. Bake at 180 degrees, until a toothpick comes out clean.
What are you making for the holiday? See you in 5781!
Julie
Julie Zuckerman's debut novel-in-stories, The Book of Jeremiah, was published in May 2019 by Press 53. Her fiction and non-fiction have appeared in CRAFT, Tikkun, Jewish Women’s Archives, Crab Orchard Review, The Coil, The SFWP Quarterly, Ellipsis, MoonPark Review, Sixfold, and The MacGuffin, among others. A native of Connecticut, she lives in Israel with her husband and four children, and works full time at a high-tech company. www.juliezuckerman.com