I have found that many people worry about how many and what simanim to prepare and serve, the custom of foods served at the beginning of the Rosh Hashana meal which are symbols of blessings for the New Year.
I won’t lie, these are my favorite part of the meal and I’ve listed just some of them below (haven’t had a chance to post a leek recipe but we can’t have it all) to perhaps help people decide what catches their fancy and what they’d enjoy preparing and eating for this auspicious time of year. Growing up in New York, we really didn’t have this vast array of symbolic foods.
We had apples dipped in honey (a basic) and a new fruit, preferably as exotic as could be found (my dad LOVED finding the most exotic thing he could, he was the foodie along with me, not my mom) and a pomegranate. That was pretty much it. Of course, there was a festive meal, but that was something separate.
In Israel, we discovered that Sephardic Jews had a slew of their own which many Ashkenazi Jews also adopted, and in addition, there were also funny ones (raisins, for a raise in salary etc., completely made up but why the heck not?) and Israeli ones. This opened up a world of taste sensations and also added variety and a sense of special-ness to the whole beginning of the meal, which I know impacted the kids as well. I use this as a first course.
My son Yehuda and his wife Daniella live across the hall from a Sephardi family with whom they are close and it has been their own tradition to be invited by them for the first night meal on Rosh Hashana. Yehuda told me that they serve the simanim throughout the meal, making first courses, main dishes, sides and desserts with them. I loved the idea since it transforms the whole meal into symbolic blessings and will attempt this one day. (And maybe the Shwekas will give me a coupla recipes, who knows?)
Until that time, I present to you a small collection of recipes for some of the simanim. May we share only blessings for the New Year, sweet, happy, healthy and NORMAL!!! G-d willing, for all the Jewish People and the whole world.
Each of the items below are clickable posts:
Dates– Awesome Date Nut Muffins Normally, I stuff my dates with walnuts but Ashkenzim don’t use nuts (most of us anyway) on Rosh Hashana. So go with a little mini muffin and if it’s your custom, skip the nuts, why not I say? Might as well begin with a sweet fun thing.
Beets – Sweet and Sour Beet Salad Ruby red, beautiful on your plate and sweet with a tang.
Squash – (gourd) Smooth and Silky Potato Squash Soup As a change of pace, serve in a little hot cup.
Apple – Stuffed Purple Onions and Apples These are also visually gorgeous and can be quite filling.
Pomegranate – Chicken Livers With Onions, Mushrooms and Peppers and Shhhh Pomegranate Syrup I would serve this cut into small chunks on a cupcake holder to make little portions.
Carrots – Moroccan Cooked Carrot Salad Adds a note of spiciness, shouldn’t we wish for a little spice in our lives?
Spinach – Dairy free Spinach Quiche I serve these baked in individual gold muffin papers, the green and gold are really eye catching.
Fish – Mom’s Homemade Gefilte Fish Form into small balls and put a festive toothpick in it. I could go on but I find that a really nice array goes a long way. DH gets his fish head (true love on my part, ewww) and we have all sorts of other things but the above selection should keep you and yours happy. Shana Tova!!
