Rosh Hashana · Simanim
Simanim worth gathering around.
I'd rather a siman be dinner than a ceremony. Five dishes carry almost all of them — each one written out in full.
Apple, cabbage, fennel, pomegranate
Cabbage, fennel and apple
Half the simanim end up in one bowl, which is the whole point. Shave everything paper-thin, keep it cold, and dress it just before it goes out.
Cooked as
Simanim salad
The recipe
Ingredients
- Shaved white cabbage
- Shaved fennel
- Granny Smith apple, thinly sliced
- Fresh mint
- Pomegranate seeds
- Chili pepper
- Dressing: Dijon mustard and whole-grain mustard
- Apple cider vinegar
- Honey
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Salt and pepper
How I make it
Shave the cabbage, fennel and apple as thinly as you can and keep them cold.
Whisk both mustards with apple cider vinegar, honey, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.
Dress just before serving, then fold through the mint, pomegranate seeds and chili.
Carrots
Carrots
Sliced raw with cilantro and jalapeño — sharp enough to wake the table up between courses.
Cooked as
Fresh carrot salad
The recipe
Ingredients
- Thinly sliced colorful carrots
- Fresh cilantro
- Jalapeño
- Lemon juice
- Vinegar
- Salt and pepper
How I make it
Slice, toss and let it sit — it only gets better in the fridge.
Dates, beets
Dates and beets
Softened and pounded flat as the base of the carpaccio — the least expected way I serve them.
Cooked as
Date and beet carpaccio
The recipe
Ingredients
- Medjool dates
- Boiled beets
- Arugula
- Toasted pine nuts
- Olive oil
- Lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
How I make it
Soften the dates in a little hot water, then flatten them into a thin layer as the base of the carpaccio.
Top with thin slices of boiled beet, or alternate layers of beet and flattened dates.
Finish with arugula, toasted pine nuts, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Black-eyed peas, fish
Fish and black-eyed peas
Two simanim in one plate. Serve the salsa on its own, or put salmon underneath — thinly sliced sashimi works just as well as a charred lemony fillet.
Cooked as
Charred salmon with balsamic black-eyed pea salsa
The recipe
Ingredients
- 1 can plain black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
- 3 bell peppers, finely diced (three different colors)
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon sweetener
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
How I make it
Combine everything for the salsa and let it sit — it wants an hour at least.
Char the salmon, spoon the salsa over the top and finish with a balsamic glaze.
The extra
Zucchini latkes
Not a siman, but it fries while the apples and honey are going around — so it lives here.
Cooked as
Zucchini latkes
The recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb zucchini (1 very large or 2 medium)
- 3/4 lb russet or Idaho potato (about 1 large), peeled
- 1 small onion, peeled
- 1/2 cup matzo meal or 1/3 cup potato starch
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, plus lemon wedges for serving
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Oil, for frying
How I make it
Grate the zucchini, potato and onion, then squeeze out as much liquid as you can.
Mix with the matzo meal or potato starch, egg, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Fry spoonfuls in hot oil until deep golden on both sides, then drain. Serve with extra lemon wedges.
Pomegranate seeds
Pomegranate
Seeded into a shallow ceramic bowl an hour before, covered, and kept cold.
Also on the table in
- Simanim salad
- Pomegranate French roast over cauliflower-leek purée
- Roasted loaded eggplant
- Silan-baked apples with tahini crumble and pomegranate
Leek
Leek
Sliced into the chicken marinade and puréed under the roast, so it is eaten rather than tasted and abandoned.
Also on the table in
- Herb-roasted chicken with leeks
- Pomegranate French roast over cauliflower-leek purée
The recipes live here, with the simanim they carry. The roast, the chicken, the sides and dessert are in the menu. Meanings, minhagim and brachos belong to your own rav, not to this page.