Fresh possibilities for Rosh Hashana

Rosh Hashana typically is a solidly autumnal holiday, falling sometimes as late as October. But this year, the Jewish New Year comes early — the first week of September, a time when summer’s bounty is still fresh for much of the country.

“It’s a gift,” says kosher chef Laura Frankel, executive chef for Wolfgang Puck Kosher Catering in Chicago. The holiday falling at the height of the harvest season presents an abundance of culinary opportunities for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur cooking, she explains.

The timing presents cooks with completely different choices in terms of what foods — particularly produce — are in the markets.

Frankel says her cooking theme this year is clean and simple because the produce will be fresh and ripe. Rather than the traditional cooked borscht soup made with late season beets, she’ll be serving salads with thinly sliced raw beets. For desserts, she’ll do simple fresh fruit galettes with an olive oil and egg yolk pastry crust. Whatever looks best in the markets will help guide her in developing the menu.

Because the holiday is early, for example, there will be fewer varieties of apples (a staple of the holiday) than usual, but more stone fruits, tomatoes and eggplants, she says.

The careful choice of Rosh Hashana foods is significant, because like most Jewish holidays, which are all in some way tied to the agricultural calendar, foods are an important part of the celebration and are loaded with symbolism.

The typical Rosh Hashana meal is filled with sweet foods, such as apples and honey, to represent the hope for a sweet year to come. Enjoying newly harvested fruits is also important, as is offering a round

challah loaf studded with sweet dried fruit, which some think symbolizes the cyclical nature of life or perhaps the crown that marks God as the king of the world.

This high holiday has come to represent the beginning of the new harvest year. And that has deep meaning for David and Jamie Baker, who gave up a high-end lifestyle on the North Shore of Chicago to start Primrose Valley Farm in South Central Wisconsin. The organic farm, which also has a kosher cooking facility, sells community sustained agriculture shares to locals and provides over 5,000 pounds of produce a year to The Ark in Chicago, which offers assistance to members of the city’s Jewish community.

David Baker said that their lives always have been centered around the kitchen and the cycles of the holidays; family life and planting and growing food have always been a significant part of his family’s spiritual life.

Baker and his wife watched as the country’s trend toward eating more healthful foods grew into a system of corporate farms and high-priced natural food markets that depended on huge amounts of resources. So what started as an interest in backyard gardening to grow their own food turned into a mission to “repair the world” through community sustained agriculture, says Baker.

The Bakers celebrate Rosh Hashana with several families in their community, including a rabbi, by having a “seder” (a celebratory meal more often associated with Passover) at which a symbolic plate of foods is at the center of the table. As with Passover, these foods help tell the story of the significance of the holiday.

Few Jewish families celebrate Rosh Hashana with this kind of seder, but for the Baker’s it helps close the circle on their agriculturally centered lives. The seder plate will hold many foods typically included at Rosh Hashana, such as leeks, spinach and potatoes, but also will have some vegetables that were particularly abundant in this year’s harvest at Primrose Valley Farm.

The rabbi, says Baker, will say a traditional prayer over each food, then offer his thoughts on how the food fits into their lives running the farm and nourishing members of the community.

Laura Frankel also sees the Jewish high holy days — which start with Rosh Hashana and end with Yom Kippur (a day of atonement) — as a time for reflection, new beginnings and always an opportunity for learning something new.

This year, rather than relying on culinary creativity to turn late harvest produce into a great meal, she’s committed to letting the foods speak for themselves. She sees this holiday as an opportunity for cooks to learn to do less to their foods rather than rely on complicated recipes.

Her Rosh Hashana lamb or brisket will be roasted and served with a “butter” made by cooking down fresh beets and apples. To break the Yom Kippur fast she might offer an heirloom tomato gazpacho soup.

Frankel encourages home cooks to take advantage of whatever fruits, vegetables and herbs are at the height of freshness in their area.

This caramelized onion, eggplant and heirloom tomato tart is made with an olive oil crust and can be served alongside meat or poultry for Rosh Hashana, or served cold or at room temperature as part of a Yom Kippur fast breaking.

Date and honey zucchini bread has dual holiday suitability as well. Serve it as a Rosh Hashana dessert, or perhaps spread with a little cream cheese as part of a light Yom Kippur breakfast dairy meal.

Baked Honey-Date Apples

Start to finish: 1 hour (15 minutes active). Servings: 6.

6 baking apples, such as Fuji or Gala

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and broken

3/4 cup chopped dates

Zest of 1 orange

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

Heat the oven to 350 F. Mist a 9-by-9-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Core the apples using an apple corer or a melon baller, leaving the apple otherwise whole. Scoop out a little bit of extra apple at the center to create a cavity inside about the size of a walnut. Arrange the apples standing upright in the prepared pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the walnuts, dates, orange zest, honey and mint. Knead the mixture together with your hands until it is well combined. Spoon some of the mixture into the cavity of each the apple, packing it into the center. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the apple is tender when pierced with the tip of a paring knife.

Nutrition information per serving: 260 calories; 60 calories from fat (23 percent of total calories); 7 g fat (0.5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 54 g carbohydrate; 8 g fiber; 43 g sugar; 3 g protein; 0 mg sodium.

Caramelized Onion, Eggplant and Heirloom Tomato Tart

Start to finish: 2 hours. Servings: 8.

For the crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, chilled in the freezer for 1 hour

4 tablespoons ice water

For the filling:

Olive oil cooking spray

1 3/4 pounds small eggplants, peel and cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 cups thinly sliced red onions (about 3 large)

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

4 heirloom tomatoes (multiple colors), cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

Fresh basil leaves, to garnish

To make the crust, in a large bowl whisk together flour and salt. Add chilled olive oil and using clean hands or a fork, mix until the oil is incorporated and the mixture is the consistency of small peas. Add the ice water and mix until dough has just formed. Shaped into a 6-inch disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Heat the oven to 375 F. Coat a large baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray.

Mist the eggplant rounds with cooking spray, then season both sides of each slice with salt and pepper. Arrange the eggplants slices in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, or until soft and golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside.

While the eggplant cooks, in a large saucepan over medium, heat the olive oil. Add the onions and saute until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1 teaspoon salt and the thyme, then reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally so the onions don’t burn, until very soft and browned, about another 30 minutes. Stir in the vinegar and remove from heat.

Mist an 11-inch springform tart pan (or a tart pan with a removable bottom) with cooking spray.

On a clean, floured surface using a floured rolling pin, roll the chilled dough into a 13-inch circle. Transfer the dough to the tart pan and fold in and press together the overhanging dough to build up the edges. If the dough tears or breaks, simply piece it together and press it into the pan.

Spread the onion mixture in an even layer over the bottom of the tart. Add an even layer of the eggplant. Top with tomato slices arranged in an overlapping circular pattern. Spray the top of the tart with olive oil cooking spray, then season with salt and pepper.

Bake until the crust is golden and the tomatoes are slightly browned, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a rack. Remove the outer ring of the pan and transfer the tart to a serving plate. Slice into 8 wedges and serve warm, at room temperature or chilled. Serve garnished with torn basil leaves.

Nutrition information per serving: 340 calories; 160 calories from fat (47 percent of total calories); 18 g fat (2.5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 41 g carbohydrate; 7 g fiber; 8 g sugar; 6 g protein; 610 mg sodium.

Date and Honey Zucchini Bread

Start to finish: 1 1/2 hours. Servings: 10.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pan

1 1/2 cups white whole-wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3 eggs

1 cup honey

1 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups packed shredded zucchini (not peeled)

1 cup coarsely chopped medjool dates

Set a rack in the center of the oven. Heat the oven to 350 F. Mist a Bundt pan with baking spray.

In medium bowl, whisk together both flours, the baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until well beaten. Stir in the honey, oil and vanilla, then fold in the zucchini.

Add dry ingredients and chopped dates to the zucchini mixture. Stir just until the dry ingredients are just moistened. Do not over mix.

Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted at the center of the loaf comes out clean and dry, 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition information per serving: 510 calories; 210 calories from fat (41 percent of total calories); 24 g fat (2 g saturated; 0.5 g trans fats); 55 mg cholesterol; 71 g carbohydrate; 5 g fiber; 40 g sugar; 7 g protein; 400 mg sodium.