Traditional High Holy Days dishes such asbrisket,tzimmes, andkugelmay rightfully have their place at theRosh Hashanah table, but if you're adventurous and looking to serve something different, what better time to do so than at a celebration of the start of a new year? We turned to London chef and cookbook authorYotam Ottolenghifor Rosh Hashanah's inspiration, with a menu featuring recipes from hismany cookbooks, includingOttolenghi,Plenty, andJerusalem。图蓝基的清爽和含蓄的方法ch to Middle Eastern cuisine suggests new ways of cooking symbolic and traditional foods and ingredients: You'll find honey, apples, fish, and pomegranates all in play. Add a myriad of spices, herbs, and other Middle Eastern staples—couscous, harissa, eggplant, dried rose petals—and what you get is an intensely aromatic and flavorful meal with which to begin your new year.
Growing up in Israel, Ottolenghi notes, “[my family] didn't really celebrate Rosh Hashanah at home, although I was aware of the food traditions associated with this holiday. Apples dipped in honey is all I can remember.”
Rather, Ottolenghi's mixed German and Italian background had the biggest impact on his later cooking, especially the Italian side of the family. "My Italian [paternal] grandparents had a strong influence over the food I had growing up. I clearly remember my grandmother's savory little bagel-shaped cookies, enjoyed with freshly brewed Italian coffee. She made wonderful semolina gnocchi and the most delicious fried zucchini in vinegar. The food my dad cooked for us was very Italian: quality ingredients, simply prepared. He made the most scrumptious pasta sauces, cooked lovely polenta, and all manner of roasted vegetables and soups."
The German-heritage cooking of his mother and maternal grandmother also played a major supporting role: "My maternal grandmother made fantastic ox tongue with velvety roasted potatoes. She cooked sweet red cabbage and lovely cauliflower with butter and bread crumbs."
Ottolenghi's own culinary preferences diverge quite drastically from both of his parents', though. "If I am honest, my food is actually quite far removed from both the food of my mother and my father," he says. "I feel more at home with the typical Middle Eastern flavors and the emphasis on spices, lemon juice, grains, and vegetables."
Here Ottolenghi shares easy, useful recipe advice for his Middle Eastern–inspired Rosh Hashanah menu. Note that it's easy to transform the entire menu into a vegetarian feast by swapping out the fish and chicken for extra-firm tofu, which can withstand the cooking methods as well as hold its shape and firmness. And of course, no holiday meal is complete without something to drink. When asked what to serve with the menu, Ottolenghi makes a surprising suggestion that would work well with the variety of herbs and spices in the menu: "I love aniseed-y liquors like raki or Pernod." He also recommends drinking a good beer of your choice or a very dry white wine such as a New World Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or Chablis.
Yotam Ottolenghi’s Rosh Hashanah Dinner Menu for Eight
Note: To serve eight, this recipe should be doubled.
Perhaps the most recognized recipe from Ottolenghi's best-selling cookbookPlenty,this dish makes for a remarkable start to a holiday dinner. The eggplant's mild earthiness gets a boost of flavor thanks to the tangy, light buttermilk sauce, as well as a sprinkling of za'atar and pomegranates. Ottolenghi says any variety of eggplant—Chinese, white, Italian—will work, "as long as it's fully cooked and well soaked in oil (very well!)." Feel free to use packaged fresh arils if you're looking for a mess-free way to procure the pomegranate seeds.
Incorporating two different sizes of couscous, in addition to nigella seeds and oven-dried tomatoes, this dish is wonderfully textured. Mograbiah is sometimes marketed as "Lebanese couscous" (Mograbiahis a Lebanese word); pearl and Israeli varieties can also be used. If you can't oven-dry your own tomatoes, Ottolenghi recommends "soak[ing] sun-dried tomatoes (whether [packed] dry or in oil) in some water and vinegar for a couple of hours." Doing so will help render the tomatoes more tender.
Note: To serve eight, this recipe should be doubled.
If this dish sounds sweet, don't be fooled: Red chile adds color and gentle heat, and the delicate sharpness of the green onions—as well as balsamic vinegar's astringency—all help to cut the overall sweetness and add layers of flavor. For some creamy tanginess, add the optional goat cheese. Fresh figs are optimal in this recipe, but dried figs make a fine substitute. When reconstituting dried figs, follow Ottolenghi's recommendation: “I'd chop them into 1-centimeter slices before doing that so they go very soft. I'd use water for this since there are already tons of flavors in the recipe.”
来自你的厨房的香气将头脑venly, thanks to the saffron-infused paste and spice-laden marinade in this special-occasion chicken dish. Given its market price, it might be tempting to skimp on the quality of saffron. Don't. Take a little time to presoak the saffron threads in the 4 tablespoons of water called for in the recipe. “We [tried] to make it quick and easy, but soaking does help with the color and flavor.”
Note: To serve eight, this recipe should be doubled.
This dish makes use of harissa and dried rose petals, both Tunisian ingredients, the latter of which adds a floral component to the dish. The use of honey with fish (both traditional Rosh Hashanah ingredients; feel free to keep the fish head intact) marries two seemingly incongruous flavors, the former of which gently tempers harissa's heat. If sea bass is unavailable, or if you're concerned about the sustainability of the fish, refer to theMonterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watchfor alternatives.
This ode to apples and honey is not only familiar and comforting but seasonally appropriate, too. If Granny Smith apples are too tart for your liking, use a firm but sweeter variety such as Gala, Honeycrisp, Jonathan, or a mix of your favorite apples. And for a little bit more warm spice, soak the raisins in rum instead of water.
Yotam Ottolenghi owns a namesake group of restaurants in London, plus a high-end restaurant, Nopi, also in London. His 2011 cookbook, ‘Plenty,’ was a New York Times best seller. Sami Tamimi is a partner and head chef at Ottolenghi. Their 2012 cookbook, ‘Jerusalem,’ was a New York Times bestseller and was awarded Cookbook of the Year by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. ‘Ottolenghi: The Cookbook’ was published in September 2013 in the United States.
