ROSH HASHANAH

CHANGING UP OUR TRADITIONAL HOLIDAY MEAL

SARINA ROFFÉ

THE HIGH HOLIDAYS ARE COMING AND THAT MEANS PREPARATION. I’VE BEEN PACKING MY FREEZER WITH THE USUAL SYRIAN RECIPES — SAMBUSAK, KIBBEH, LAHAMAGENE, TWISTED CHEESE, EMPANADAS, ETC.

What traditional holiday meals could we have without those? And don’t forget some type of meshe, mezze salads at lunch, and of course, rice for homid, kefftes and lubya!

When developing my menu, I consider what is locally available in the markets and seek out new and creative ways to prepare dishes. I also like to add new things, often inspired by local in-season fresh ingredients. I don’t forget tradition, inspired by my Sito, Esther Salem, who churned out thousands of mouthwatering appetizers, mahmoul and crisp ka’ack, only to have an empty freezer in hours. Salem Catering provided Syrian foods for the entire community in the mid-20th Century, in the days before there were social halls. People tell me even today that I cook like my grandmother, and I am honored her legacy lives on.

So what am I adding to the menu this year? We start with basil cucumber salad with peanuts. Our main dish is pearl couscous with za’atar chicken with mint and pomegranate, and a side dish of rice pilaf with zucchini, apricot, almonds and chickpeas. What child doesn’t like a pasta dish? So I’ll also serve a penne pepper steak which has a pasta base my grandchildren adore.

After dinner, my mother Renee always put out an assortment of nuts, and a fresh fruit platter. I love to serve Moroccan mint tea and sweet desserts. Since apples are in season, I have included my go to apple cake recipe.

BASIL CUCUMBER SALAD WITH PEANUTS
Ingredients for Dressing

• 4 tablespoons Lime juice
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons honey

Ingredients for Salad

• 2 lbs English cucumber, thinly sliced
• Bunch of scallions, sliced
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• ½ cup fresh basil, cilantro and peanuts, chopped
• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
• Red pepper flakes to taste

Directions
Combine dressing ingredients and whisk. Place cucumbers, scallions, red onion, basil, cilantro and peanuts in a bowl. Top with dressing and toss until coated. Garnish with sesame seeds and red pepper flakes.

PEARLED COUSCOUS WITH ZAATAR CHICKEN WITH MINT AND POMEGRANATE
Ingredients

• 8 to 12 chicken thighs and legs, skin on
• Salt, pepper and paprika
• 5 tablespoons za’atar
• 1 tablespoons tamarind paste or sauce
• Olive oil
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• ½ cup golden raisins
• 1½ cups pearl couscous
• 1¾ cups chicken or vegetable stock
• ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
• ½ cup fresh mint, chopped
• ¼ cup pomegranate seeds

Directions
Season chicken with salt, pepper, and paprika. Mix together 3 tablespoons olive oil with 3 tablespoons of the za’atar and tamarind. Coat chicken.
In large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil, on medium high heat. In batches, add chicken, skin side down, and cook 8 minutes until crisp. Turn over and cook the other side for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from pan.
In same skillet, add onions, garlic and raisins, using ¼ cup stock to deglaze the pan and scrape all the bits from the bottom. Add pearled couscous and stir until lightly toasted. Add stock and parsley, placing chicken pieces on top. Allow to cook covered, on low heat for 20 to 30 minutes.
Mix 2 tablespoons za’atar with tablespoons olive oil. Spoon couscous on platter, top with chicken and drizzle the za’atar mixture on top. Sprinkle with mint and pomegranate seeds.

RICE PILAF WITH ZUCCHINI, APRICOT, ALMONDS & CHICKPEAS
Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 1 large vidalia onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 cups basmati rice
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• About 6 sprigs of cilantro, diced
• 1 lemon, zest and juiced
• 1 bell pepper, diced (or jalapeno for a little heat)
• 2 zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
• 1 14 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• Pepper to taste
• 4 – 6 tablespoons shawarma spice
• ½ cup slivered almonds
• 12-15 dried apricots, cut in half
• ¼ cup craisins
• 1 lemon, quartered

Directions
Heat olive oil in 2 qt. pot over medium high heat. Add ¼ of the onion and stir until softened. Stir in 3 cups rice, water, ¾ cup stock and salt. Bring to boil and let simmer for 5 minutes, then cover and lower heat. Let cook until rice is tender and most of the water has been absorbed, about another 10 minutes. Turn off heat.
In a small bowl, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, about one clove worth of the previously minced garlic, lemon zest, green pepper, salt and pepper, cilantro and the juice of one lemon.
In large fry pan, drizzle olive oil, add remaining onion and zucchini. Cook, stirring until lightly brown. Add remaining garlic, salt and pepper to taste, and shawarma seasoning. Add ½ cup water and ¼ cup stock. Stir in chickpeas. Cook another minute or 2 and smell the fragrance.
Fluff rice, add pepper mixture. Fold in onion and zucchini mixture. Spoon rice onto a platter, top with almonds, craisins and apricots. Serve with lemon wedges.

PENNE PEPPER STEAK
Ingredients

• 1 lb. penne, cooked al dente
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 cups beef broth mixed with 2 tsp corn starch
• 3 tablespoons scotch
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• ¼ cup oil
• 1½ lbs. pepper steak cut in strips
• 1 onion sliced
• 1 each, green, red and yellow pepper – sliced and deveined
• 4 cloves garlic mashed
• 2 teaspoons fresh ground ginger
• 1 bunch scallions diced – separate white from greens
• Sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions
Boil 4 qts. salted water and cook penne al dente, according to package directions. Drain. In a bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, soy sauce, broth, scotch, sugar, and sesame oil.
Pat the beef dry. In a heavy skillet or a wok, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over high heat, and then stir fry the beef in 2 batches until its browned but pink within, and then transfer it to a bowl.
In the same skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the remaining oil over heat, and stir fry the onion and bell peppers for 2 minutes, then transfer to the bowl with the beef.
Add remainder of oil to skillet, then stir-fry the garlic and ginger over moderately high heat for 30 seconds. Stir the cornstarch mixture, and then add to the skillet. Cook the sauce, stirring, until its thickened. Lower heat to medium. When thickened, add the beef, and then the scallion whites, and salt to taste.
On a large platter, plate the penne and top with pepper steak. Sprinkle with scallion greens, red pepper flakes and sesame seeds. Serve.

APPLE CAKE
Ingredients

• 1½ cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup raisins
• 1½ cups oil
• 2 grated carrots
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 3 cups apples, peeled and sliced

Directions
Preheat oven to 350˚. Using a tube pan, spray with cooking spray. Beat eggs into sugar, one at a time. Add vanilla. Sift dry ingredients together. This helps the cake become light and airy.
Alternating, add oil and dry ingredients to sugar mixture. Add carrots and nuts. Fold in apples. Pour batter in pan. Bake for 45 minutes. Cake is done when toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow cake to cool. Glaze if desired.

Over the years, I have shared recipes that have appeared in the New York Times, NY Times Jewish Cookbook as well as Joan Nathan’s Jewish Cooking in America (Beardsley Award). I also wrote the “Food and Drink: Modern Period, Syria” for Brill’s Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World (Brill, Leiden, 2014) edited by Dr. Norman Stillman, University of Oklahoma.

Please think about getting one of my cookbooks: Backyard Kitchen: Mediterranean Salads (NY, Sephardic Heritage Project, 2016), Backyard Kitchen: The Main Course (NY, Sephardic Heritage Project, 2020) — for yourself or as a gift from Amazon.com. They are also available for Kindle. Download the Sarina’s Sephardic Cuisine app from the Apple store and visit my website sarinassephardiccuisine.com. Enjoy!

Community member Sarina Roffé is author of Branching Out from Sepharad (NY, Sephardic Heritage Project, 2017); Backyard Kitchen: Mediterranean Salads (NY, Sephardic Heritage Project, 2016), Backyard Kitchen: The Main Course (NY, Sephardic Heritage Project, 2020), as well as hundreds of articles published in journals, newspapers and magazines. She is a recognized academic expert in Sephardic history and foods and is a regular contributor to IMAGE Magazine.