Bountiful holiday: Rosh Hashanah symbolizes remembrance, hope and the growing cycle

Chicago Tribune (MCT) - When chef Erwin Dreschler was growing up in the Chicago community of Albany Park back in the 1950s, most Americans were almost as thrilled with the convenience of processed, canned and frozen foods as they were with the space program, which had begun rocketing monkeys into the stratosphere.

So his family's meals at Rosh Hashanah must have seemed terribly old-fashioned, especially for a city kid. "My mother was a great gardener, and she used what she'd grown at Rosh Hashanah. We never had frozen or canned vegetables," said Dreschler, whose cafe, erwin, was clearly influenced by her garden-fresh ethos. "In fact, we never had vegetables that she hadn't grown. It was a frugal, resourceful way for her to provide for us. That's just the way we did things."

Today, it's fairly easy _ and also seems quite modern _ for non-gardeners/non-farmers to be almost as attached to that cycle as Dreschler's mother was during the holidays, thanks to our local farmers markets.

Other locals such as Stuart and Caryn Danziger Morginstin, who own Danziger Kosher Catering in Lincolnwood, Ill., and Carol Smoler, a Chicago area food stylist, also have found ways to create traditional recipes updated to reflect the produce that is in abundance at this time of the year: root vegetables, spinach, chard, beets, fresh horseradish, pumpkin, eggplant, squash, sweet potatoes, apples, pears, fennel, leeks, celery. These harvest foods also are ideal for Sukkot (Oct. 13 this year), often referred to as the Jewish Thanksgiving.

Food, of course, is especially symbolic at Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, which this year begins at sundown Sept. 29. The menu is full of meaning at this holiday, which is not about ringing in the new year with abandon but about solemn reflection and remembrance _ as well as joyous hope for a good year to come: hence the apple dipped in honey to signify a sweet year, as well as carrots, representing an increase of good deeds; fish, signifying fertility and abundance; round foods, such as black-eyed peas, to signify continuity.

"The trend in the (catering) business is people requesting comfort food," said Stuart Morginstin. "Chicken soup and gefilte fish are always there. People just love brisket; I'm one of them."

But the Morginstins often add a fresh twist to their own holiday dishes. They're part of a group of 25 or so friends from their synagogue who participate in progressive meals at one another's homes over the two days.

"We love butternut squash, and do a great bisque," he said. "We use only fresh vegetables. We serve oven-roasted tomato soup with fresh garlic and basil. Potato leek soup."

"Rosh Hashanah also symbolizes the circle of life and the growing cycle," said Dreschler, adding that the holiday was particularly poignant for his garden-loving parents.

"Both were Holocaust survivors, and they were very, very thankful for what we were about to eat," he said. His parents have since passed away, and in their absence he traditionally serves dishes that his mother once made at his family's festive meal.

But he also prepares contemporary recipes that reflect the emerging green-market culture that will hopefully continue long into the future.

"We'll have a matzo ball soup, and I'll load it up with lots of vegetables _ parsnips, carrots, chard. If basil is still around, I'll make herbed matzo balls, or I'll use other fresh herbs, like sage or chives. Cucumber salad. I'll do a butternut squash and apple cider soup. And we do a great apple brandy cake."

Sometimes, however, it's not so easy to update the menu, even with so much fresh produce beckoning. Such a family-oriented holiday means tradition, which in this case also means a familiar routine: the comforting brisket or chicken, the matzo ball soup, the tzimmes, the carrot coins, couscous, chopped liver, honey cake.

"I do a 100 percent traditional menu _ and then add one or two new dishes," Smoler said. "It makes people feel secure. It's about the continuity, and it's about nostalgia."

But Smoler slips in farmers market updates. "I'll add grated zucchini to the matzo ball soup." And she converts some meat dishes into meatless. "My mother would add a piece of beef to her tzimmes," she said, referring to the sweet casserole that usually contains meat, vegetables and fruit. "But I don't do that. It adds so much fat."

Her family loves kugel, and she has taken a few liberties with it. "I've done it in muffin tins, with Yukon gold potatoes; it gets crispy all over, and it's just beautiful."

But, she added, "My family would kill me if I completely stopped making my mother's brisket."

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BISQUE OF BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH APPLE CIDER

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Cooling time: 1 hour

Yield: 8 servings

Adapted from a recipe by Erwin Dreschler of erwin cafe.

1 tablespoon butter

3 Granny Smith apples, cored, diced

1 each, peeled, chopped: large butternut squash, carrot

1 each, chopped: celery rib, onion

3 cans (15 ounces each) chicken broth

1 cup apple cider

1 ˝ tablespoons light brown sugar

˝ teaspoon each: ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper

Sour cream, apple slices, optional

1. Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat; add the apples, squash, carrot, celery and onion. Cook, stirring, until softened, about 20 minutes. Add broth; cook until squash is soft, about 30 minutes. Stir in the cider, brown sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon; cool 1 hour.

2. Puree soup in batches in a blender or food processor. Pour soup back into the Dutch oven; season with salt and pepper to taste. (If needed, thin soup with a little more cider.) Heat until hot. Pour into bowls; garnish with sour cream and apple slices.

Nutrition information per serving: 138 calories, 16 percent of calories from fat, 3 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 4 mg cholesterol, 26 g carbohydrates, 5 g protein, 859 mg sodium, 4 g fiber

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ROYAL APPLE CAKE

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Yield: 12 servings

"It is a tradition to eat apples and honey on Rosh Hashanah for a sweet new year," said Caryn Danziger Morginstin of Danziger Kosher Catering. "What meal would be complete on the holiday without this apple cake? It's made with apples we love to pick in the Wauconda Apple Orchards before the holiday. The kids were so excited to come home with their baskets filled with wonderful apples."

Crust:

2 egg yolks

2 cups flour

˝ cup margarine, softened

Ľ cup sugar

2 tablespoons brandy

1 ˝ teaspoons baking powder

Filling:

5 to 6 apples, peeled, cored, diced

1 egg

˝ cup orange juice

2 tablespoons sugar

1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon cornstarch

Topping:

1 ˝ cups flour

˝ cup each: sugar, margarine

Confectioners' sugar, optional

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. For crust, combine ingredients in a large bowl; beat with electric mixer on low until almost smooth, about 3 minutes. Press evenly into a greased 13-by-9 inch pan; arrange apples on top.

2. For filling, combine the egg, orange juice, sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch in a small bowl. Blend well, pour over apples.

3. For topping, combine the flour and sugar in a small bowl; cut in margarine until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over filling. Bake until topping is lightly browned, about 1 hour, 10 minutes. Let cool. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

Nutrition information per serving: 366 calories, 41 percent of calories from fat, 17 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 52 mg cholesterol, 50 g carbohydrates, 5 g protein, 231 mg sodium, 2 g fiber

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FALL VEGETABLE TZIMMES

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Yield: 10 servings

"In Yiddish, to make a tzimmes is to make a big fuss over something," food stylist Carol Smoler said. "It can either be vegetarian, as this recipe, or cooked with a piece of meat, which becomes very sweet when done. The sweetness relates back to the expression of the wish for a good and sweet year. I serve this as a side dish with brisket."

8 sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 pound carrots, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 cups water

˝ pound each: dried pitted prunes, dried apricots

˝ cup brown sugar

Ľ cup honey

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon salt

˝ teaspoon cinnamon

Place all ingredients in a Dutch oven; cover. Heat to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables and fruit are tender, 30-40 minutes.

Nutrition information per serving: 300 calories, 1 percent of calories from fat, 0.2 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 72 g carbohydrates, 3 g protein, 309 mg sodium, 7 g fiber

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YUKON GOLD POTATO KUGEL MUFFINS

Preparation time: 40 minutes

Cooking time: 50 minutes

Yield: 12 servings

"As a child," said food stylist Carol Smoler, "I would only eat the outside of the potato kugel, as it was very crunchy. To make more 'outside,' my mother would bake the kugel in a muffin pan, which turned out to be a great idea for serving a large crowd." Use the small holes of a box grater to grate the potatoes.

8 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, grated

4 eggs

1/3 cup matzo meal

Ľ cup minced onion

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 teaspoons salt

˝ to 1 teaspoon white pepper

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place potatoes in a fine strainer; drain water from potatoes, squeezing out excess water.

2. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Add potatoes, matzo meal, onion, oil, salt and pepper; mix well to blend. Spoon into the cups of a well greased muffin pan to fill each three-quarters full. Bake until golden and crispy on top, 50 minutes-1 hour.

Nutrition information per serving: 231 calories, 16 percent of calories from fat, 4 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 70 mg cholesterol, 43 g carbohydrates, 6 g protein, 421 mg sodium, 4 g fiber

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APPLE-NOODLE KUGEL WITH GINGER-CARAMEL SAUCE

Preparation time: 45 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Yield: 8 servings

This rich dessert is adapted from a recipe by Erwin Dreschler of erwin cafe.

Ľ cup (˝ stick) butter

3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, quartered, thinly sliced

˝ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1 package (12 ounces) wide egg noodles

6 eggs

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese

1 cup each: small-curd cottage cheese, sour cream

ľ cup golden raisins

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 ˝ teaspoons ground cinnamon

Ľ teaspoon salt

Topping:

1/3 cup coarsely crushed corn flakes

1 ˝ teaspoons sugar

˝ teaspoon cinnamon

Ľ cup (˝ stick) melted butter

Ginger-caramel sauce:

1 piece (2-inches long) ginger root, finely grated

1 cup sugar

Ľ cup water

˝ cup whipping cream

2 teaspoons each: vanilla, butter

1. Heat a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat; add apples. Cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of the sugar; toss. Cook until apples are golden, but still slightly firm, 5 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet to cool. Add noodles to boiling water; cook until just tender, 8 minutes. Drain; rinse with cold water. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs in a large bowl; add the remaining ˝ cup of the sugar, cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, raisins, vanilla, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add drained noodles to mixture; gently combine.

3. Transfer half of the noodle mixture into a buttered 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Scatter apples over noodles; top with the remaining noodle mixture. For topping, combine the corn flakes, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle this mixture over the noodles; drizzle with melted butter. Bake until set and browned, 40-50 minutes; cool to warm.

4. Meanwhile, for sauce, combine ginger, sugar and water in a small, heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Raise heat to medium-high; heat the liquid to a boil. Cook without stirring until mixture turns a dark amber, 6-8 minutes. Remove pan from heat; slowly add cream. (Use caution; mixture will boil violently.) Return to medium heat; cook until thick and smooth, 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and butter. Cut kugel into squares. Serve with sauce.

Nutrition information per serving: 783 calories, 46 percent of calories from fat, 41 g fat, 24 g saturated fat, 290 mg cholesterol, 90 g carbohydrates, 17 g protein, 364 mg sodium, 3 g fiber

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© 2008, Chicago Tribune.