Rosh Hashanah, Mediterranean Style

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which begins this year at sundown on Sunday, is traditionally a time of reflection on the past year. This year, however, many Jews’ thoughts will go back 500 years. While much of the New World is celebrating Columbus’ discovery, Jews remember another event of 1492--the expulsion of the Jews from Spain.

Forced to leave the land where they had lived for centuries, the Spanish Jews went to Turkey, Greece, Italy, Morocco and throughout the Mediterranean region, and eventually to other areas such as Holland and the New World. This large migration led to the development of Sephardic culture and cuisine, as the culinary repertoire brought by the Spanish Jews merged with the local cooking styles.

Sephardic comes from Sepharad , the Hebrew word for Spain. Today the term is often used in a broader sense to include not only Jews from Mediterranean countries but also those from the Middle East, Ethiopia and India. Although the first Jews to settle in America were Sephardic, the Sephardic cooking style is much less familiar in the United States than that of the Ashkenazic, or Eastern European, Jews. From Jewish delis or from home, many of us know the signature Ashkenazic dishes--gefilte fish, matzo ball soup, noodle kugel and cheesecake. Sephardic cuisine, both for Rosh Hashanah and for the rest of the year, is completely different.

My personal encounter with Sephardic food began when I moved to Israel more than 20 years ago. I married into a Yemenite family and had in-laws of Moroccan and Indian origins and many Sephardic neighbors. Their cooking was a revelation. I had never tasted chicken soup flavored with cumin and turmeric, Moroccan-Jewish fish with cilantro and hot peppers, spicy salads, Mediterranean stuffed eggplant or the wonderful nut-filled filo pastries so popular among the Sephardic Jews.

For Rosh Hashanah, symbolic foods appear on both Sephardic and Ashkenazic menus. All Jews share the custom of beginning the holiday dinner with a taste of something sweet, to express the wish for a sweet and happy New Year. On most tables apple wedges and pieces of sweet challah (Jewish egg bread) are served with honey for dipping. Sephardic Jews often serve pomegranates, dates, and syrup-poached quinces as well.

For the Jewish New Year, the lavish spread of vegetable salads typical of any festive Sephardic meal includes sweet vegetables such as beets and carrots. The rest of the holiday dinner may also feature sweet foods. Moroccan Jews serve couscous with seven vegetables, including winter squash, carrots, turnips and chickpeas, which simmer with raisins and meat; the raisins count as one of the “vegetables.”

Many Sephardic Jews serve roasted or braised chicken or beef, accompanied by rice, a symbol of abundance. Other metaphorical vegetables served are leeks, the name of which resembles a Hebrew word for divine protection, spinach to stand for a “green year” with a bounty of produce, and black-eyed peas to represent plenty.

Fish is served as an appetizer with its head on, to stand for “the head of the year,” the literal meaning of Rosh Hashanah, and to express a desire to get ahead and not be left behind. Sephardic Jews poach the fish in herbed tomato sauce or cook it with olive oil, peppers and garlic.

Dessert for a Sephardic Rosh Hashanah is likely to be an array of fresh seasonal fruit and perhaps some cinnamon-scented quinces. To complete the feast, there are sweet treats, such as filo pastries sprinkled with powdered sugar, cakes moistened with honey syrup, or fruit-filled cookies, accompanied by small cups of strong coffee or glasses of sweetened tea with fresh mint sprigs inside.

This dish is a favorite of North African Jews. The carrots cooked with garlic and hot pepper sauce make a pleasant, light change from the familiar American carrot salad.

SPICY CARROT SALAD

1 pound medium carrots, sliced

Dash salt

3 tablespoons oil

3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 tablespoons vinegar

1/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds

1/4 teaspoon paprika

Place carrots in saucepan and add enough water to cover. Add salt and bring to boil. Simmer over medium heat 20 to 25 minutes or until tender. Drain well.

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic and saute few seconds. Add vinegar, 1/4 cup water, hot pepper sauce, caraway seeds, paprika and dash salt. Bring to boil, stirring. Reduce heat to low. Add carrots. Simmer uncovered 5 minutes, or until sauce is reduced and coats carrots thoroughly. Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve at room temperature or cold. Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

134 calories; 96 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 11 grams fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 1.02 grams fiber.

Although traditionally fish is cooked with the head for Rosh Hashanah, I have simplified this recipe and used fillets. The fish cooks directly in a quick, simple tomato sauce and is served cold as a first course.

SEA BASS IN HERBED TOMATO SAUCE, ITALIAN-JEWISH STYLE

3 or 4 tablespoons olive oil

1/3 cup minced onion

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and pureed, or 1 (28-ounce) and 1 (14-ounce) can plum tomatoes, drained and pureed

1/2 teaspoon dried leaf oregano

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 3/4 pounds sea bass or halibut fillets, about 1 inch thick

3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

Heat 2 or 3 tablespoons oil in large saute pan or skillet. Add and saute onion over medium-low heat, stirring often, 5 minutes or until beginning to turn golden. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper to taste and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, about 8 minutes or until thick.

Add fish in 1 layer and sprinkle with remaining oil and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, spooning sauce over fish from time to time, about 10 minutes or until thickest part of fish has changed color inside when checked with thin knife. Adjust seasonings to taste in salt. Stir parsley gently into sauce. Serve fish hot or cold. Makes 6 appetizer servings.

Each serving contains about:

190 calories; 133 mg sodium; 84 mg cholesterol; 10 grams fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 20 grams protein; 0.83 gram fiber.

In some Moroccan Jewish families, a platter with a few of each of the seven “vegetables”--chickpeas, turnips, carrot, onions, zucchini, orange squash and raisins, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon--is set out to begin the Rosh Hashanah meal. Traditionally the couscous is steamed, but to save time, it can be cooked by the quick method on the package. This dish is also prepared with beef or lamb.

COUSCOUS WITH SEVEN VEGETABLES AND CHICKEN

2/3 cup uncooked garbanzo beans (chickpeas), sorted and soaked overnight, or 1 1/3 cups canned garbanzo beans

3 to 3 1/2 pounds chicken pieces

2 onions, sliced

2 tablespoons oil

1/4 teaspoon saffron threads

Salt, pepper

7 cups water

1 whole dried hot chile

1/2 pound winter squash, peeled and cut in 1-inch pieces

1/2 pound medium carrots, halved lengthwise and cut in 2- inch pieces

2 tomatoes, quartered

1 small turnip, peeled and quartered

1 onion, quartered

2 stalks celery, cut in 2-inch lengths

1/2 pound zucchini, cut in 2-inch pieces

2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

2/3 cup dark raisins

2 1/2 cups couscous

Oil or non-dairy margarine

Cinnamon

Harissa or other hot pepper sauce, optional

Drain soaked garbanzos and place in medium saucepan. (If using canned garbanzos, soaking not needed.) Add 3 cups cold water and bring to boil. Cover and simmer about 1 1/2 hours, adding hot water occasionally to keep them covered with water. Add dash of salt and continue simmering 30 to 45 minutes more or until tender.

Place chicken pieces in pot and add onions, oil, saffron, salt and pepper to taste. Cover and heat 5 minutes over low heat, stirring often. Add water and hot pepper and bring to boil. Simmer 45 minutes.

Add winter squash, carrots, tomatoes, turnip, onion, celery, zucchini, cooked or canned garbanzos, garlic and half of cilantro. Bring to boil. Simmer 30 minutes or until chicken and vegetables are tender. Taste broth to adjust seasonings. Discard hot chile. Simmer raisins separately in about 1 cup broth 10 minutes or until tender. Cover and keep warm.

Prepare couscous according to package instructions for quick cooking, using oil to enrich couscous.

To serve, pile couscous in cone shape on large platter. Decorate by sprinkling cinnamon in lines from top to bottom of couscous cone, or spoon raisins on top of and around couscous. Place chicken and vegetables on platter and sprinkle with remaining cilantro. Serve broth from tureen for moistening couscous. Serve couscous in shallow bowls. Accompany with hot pepper sauce. Makes 6 servings.

Each serving contains about:

815 calories; 172 mg sodium; 87 mg cholesterol; 29 grams fat; 102 grams carbohydrates; 39 grams protein; 3.46 grams fiber.

This is a prized Rosh Hashanah dish among Jews of Greek, Turkish and North African origin. In many families the compote is set on the table along with apple slices and bowls of honey to sample before the actual dinner begins. The sweet, light pink quince compote also makes a tasty dessert.

QUINCE COMPOTE WITH CINNAMON

3 large quinces

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup strained fresh lemon juice, optional

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Peel quinces, cut in eighths, and cut out core and seed section from each piece. Place quince pieces in heavy saucepan, add water just to cover and bring to boil. Cook uncovered over medium-low heat, carefully turning slices over from time to time, about 50 minutes, or until tender and only about half covered with water. (Cooking time varies with size of quinces and degree of ripeness.)

Add sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon. Swirl pan and baste quinces with liquid to dissolve sugar. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes, then over low heat 30 minutes, basting from time to time. Watch carefully; it may scorch. (When quinces are ready, they should be very tender and appear shiny and glazed. Syrup should taste concentrated.) Spoon into serving dishes with syrup. Serve cold. Makes 6 servings.

Each serving contains about:

155 calories; 2 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 40 grams carbohydrates; 0 protein; 0.78 gram fiber.

I learned to make these scrumptious pastries from Lebanese-born Suzanne Elmaleh, who lives in Jerusalem. Unlike some Middle Eastern filo pastries, these are not drenched in a cloying syrup, but rather are crisp, light-textured, delicate and with a hint of sweetness.

PINE NUT-ALMOND FILO FINGERS

1/2 pound filo dough

3/4 cup almonds

3/4 cup walnuts

1/4 cup pine nuts

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons powdered sugar, optional

1/2 cup non-dairy margarine, melted

Powdered sugar

If filo dough is frozen, thaw in refrigerator 8 hours or overnight. Remove filo from refrigerator 2 hours before using. Leave in package.

In food processor chop almonds and walnuts together, leaving some pieces. Do not grind finely. Transfer to bowl and stir in pine nuts, cinnamon and powdered sugar.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or grease them. Remove filo sheets from package and unroll on dry towel. With sharp knife, cut stack of sheets in half lengthwise, then in half crosswise. Cover filo immediately with piece of wax paper, then with damp towel. Work with only 1 sheet at time, keeping remaining sheets covered so they don’t dry out.

Remove 1 pastry square from pile. Brush lightly with melted margarine. Spoon about 2 teaspoons filling at 1 end of filo square so it extends all along edge. Fold 2 ends of dough in slightly over filling, then roll up tightly to form thin finger. Transfer to baking sheet. Continue with remaining dough and filling. Bake pastries at 350 degrees 15 to 20 minutes or until very light golden. Cool on rack. (Pastries can be kept, baked or unbaked, covered tightly, in freezer, or baked pastries can be kept in airtight container 1 day at room temperature.) Before serving, sprinkle pastries generously with powdered sugar. Makes about 30 pastries.

Each serving contains about:

101 calories; 87 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 6 grams fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 0.32 gram fiber.