Classic Rosh Hashanah Comfort Cooking

This article has been excerpted from its original location at the Baltimore Jewish Times with permission from the publisher. Click here to view the original article in full.

September 11, 2020

This year has been like no other. COVID-19 has changed the way we work and play, who we see and how we see them. At Passover, it brought us Zoom seders. Likewise, High Holiday services will be held on Zoom, too.

At Rosh Hashanah, I usually introduce one or two sensational new recipes to dazzle the friends and family at my table. But this September, people don’t want to be wowed. They want to be comforted. Now is the time to cleave to tradition, to prepare the foods your family has been eating for generations.

While traditional Rosh Hashanah foods abound — such as apples and honey, brisket and roasted potatoes, kugels, plus apple and honey cakes — many families have their own food customs.

The famed Jewish cookbook author Joan Nathan once told me she bakes a plum tart every Rosh Hashanah. I was surprised she didn’t use apples. But her family is enamored with plums and clamors for this tart bursting with this juicy seasonal fruit.

If your family has been serving favorite foods to celebrate the Jewish New Year or if you’re lucky enough to have your grandmother’s Rosh Hashanah recipes, this is the time to make them. It’s crucial to hold on to what is meaningful from the past as we start an uncertain new year. COVID-19 has taken so much away from us; we should cherish our culinary heritage.

My Mother’s Brisket

Serves 6-8

From the recipe file of Carol Kolton, dating to the mid-20th century.

Nonstick vegetable spray
2 Spanish onions
2 bunches of carrots, peeled and cut into circles about ¼-inch thick
1 5-pound brisket
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
¼ teaspoon garlic powder, or more if desired
2 cups ketchup
½ cup water
Optional accompaniment: noodles

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large Dutch oven or equivalent large pot with nonstick vegetable spray. Slice the onions about ⅛-inch thick and arrange them in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Cover the onions with half of the carrots.

Sprinkle the brisket with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place it on top of the carrots. Arrange the remaining carrots around the sides of the Dutch oven. Pour the ketchup over the brisket. Drizzle the water around the brisket — not on it.

Bake uncovered for 1½ hours. Cover it with aluminum foil and continue baking for another 1 to 1½ hours (2½ to 3 hours in all). The brisket should be fork tender. Cool to warm or refrigerate before slicing.

Brisket tastes best when slices sit in the sauce for a day before serving. If not serving it immediately, cover and refrigerate until serving. This recipe freezes well. Heat up before serving. If desired, serve with noodles, following the package directions.

Make Ahead Potatoes and Onions

Serves 6-8 as a side dish

An updated version of my grandmother’s recipe from the early 20th century.

4 medium-sized potatoes, preferably Yukon Gold
⅛ cup olive oil, plus ⅛ cup, or more if needed
Kosher salt to taste
1 large onion

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Scrub the potatoes and pat them dry with paper towels. Slice them into disks ½-inch wide. Coat 1 or 2 rimmed ovenproof pans generously with some of the first ⅛ cup of oil. Arrange the potato disks in the pan(s). Drizzle with the remaining first ⅛ cup of oil and turn them gently with a wooden spoon until the disks are well coated. Sprinkle the top and bottom sides with salt. Place them in the oven and roast.

Turn the potatoes after 10 minutes. Add more oil, if needed. Roast for about 30 minutes, turning every few minutes, until the potatoes are soft on the outside but firm on the inside. Remove the potatoes from the oven.

While the potatoes roast, slice the onion into thin disks. Pull apart each disk with your fingers, creating raw rings of onion. Pour some of the second ⅛ cup oil into a large, deep pot and place it on a medium flame to warm. Add the raw onion rings and sprinkle with a little salt. Sauté the onions until they turn golden. If they are ready before the potatoes, remove the pot from the flame.

Spoon the partially roasted potato disks into the pot with the onions and stir to combine.

Sauté on a medium flame, turning every few minutes, until the potatoes are cooked through and browning, about 20 minutes. Add more oil, if necessary.

The recipe can be made to this point and left at room temperature for a couple of hours and reheated before serving or it can be refrigerated for up to three days, brought to room temperature and reheated.

You can find more recipes from this article at its original location at the Baltimore Jewish Times.

Linda Morel

Baltimore Jewish Times

The Baltimore Jewish Times, published by Mid-Atlantic Media, was founded in 1919 by David Alter. Affectionately known locally as the JT, the publication has arrived at readers’ homes every week, without interruption, for nearly a century.

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