Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, a time for reflection, renewal and looking ahead to the year to come. Food plays an important role in the celebration, with symbolic foods meant to welcome a sweet New Year.
This Mediterranean Rosh Hashanah menu brings together some of my favorite holiday recipes, with everything from challah and appetizers to main dishes, sides, and, of course, sweet desserts.
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What is Rosh Hashanah?
Rosh Hashanah means "head of the year" in Hebrew and marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year. The holiday is celebrated for two days and begins the period known as the High Holy Days, a time of reflection and spiritual renewal leading up to Yom Kippur.
One of the most beloved Rosh Hashanah traditions is serving symbolic foods, each representing a wish or blessing for the year ahead.
Traditions and foods can vary between Jewish communities and families, but the common theme is the same: welcoming the New Year with sweetness, abundance, and good wishes.
Symbolic Foods of Rosh Hashanah
- Apples and Honey: Apples dipped in honey are probably the most recognizable Rosh Hashanah tradition. This symbolizes welcoming a sweet New Year.
- Round Challah: The circular shape represents the cycle of the year and continuity of life.
- Pomegranate: Pomegranate symbolizes abundance and prosperity. Their seeds are also traditionally associated with 613 mitzvot.
- Dates: Dates are especially prominent in Sephardic Rosh Hashanah traditions. They also help symbolize a sweet New Year.
- Beets: The Hebrew word for beet, selek, is associated with the idea of removing or driving away obstacles and negativity.
- Leeks: Eating leeks represents the wish that our enemies and anything harmful be cut off or removed in the year ahead.
- Fish Head: A fish head represents the hope of being "the head and not the tail" in the coming year.
- If you don't eat fish, other foods representing a "head," such as a head of garlic or cabbage, can be used instead. Even a fish-head-shaped candy can be a fun option!
- Gourds and Squash: These represent abundance, prosperity and the hope that our blessings will increase throughout the coming year.
🍎 Challah
Round Fig Challah: Sweet dried figs, cinnamon and honey cook down and are spread onto strands of challah. Once baked and cut into, the dried fruit mixture peeks out into beautiful swirls.
Round Apple Challah with Streusel Topping: It's like apple pie meets challah! Roasted cinnamon apples are stuffed into challah and generously sprinkled with a brown sugar cinnamon streusel topping.
🥣 Appetizers and First Course
Red and Yellow Beet Soup: This vibrant red and yellow beet soup is as stunning to look at as it is to eat. Sweet beets are blended into two purées and layered together for a vibrant and flavorful twist on classic borscht.
Phyllo Feta Rolls with Honey: These crispy phyllo feta rolls are filled with creamy feta and drizzled with honey. The perfect mix of sweet and savory.
🍗 Main Dishes
Chicken with Dates and Red Wine: This chicken with dates, red wine, and saffron is a stunning main course for Rosh Hashanah, with tender chicken that's simmered in a bold, slightly sweet and savory sauce.
Braised Sweet and Sour Brisket: This tender, melt-in-your-mouth brisket is slowly braised in a tangy and rich sauce that beautifully glazes over the meat.
Pomegranate Braised Short Ribs: These pomegranate-braised short ribs slowly cook in a rich braising liquid with red wine, warm spices and pomegranate juice.
Whole Branzino with Citrus and Herbs: This recipe is for grilled branzino but roasting works great! Place the whole fish on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast in a 400-degree Fahrenheit oven for 15-20 minutes.
🥕 Side Dishes
Pomegranate Roasted Carrots: Warm spices, sweet maple syrup and tangy pomegranate molasses season the roasted carrots and pears, creating a sweet, tangy and caramelized vegetable dish.
Persian Jeweled Rice: Layered with fragrant saffron, warm spices, crunchy nuts, and sweet dried fruit, this Persian Jeweled Rice is traditionally served at celebrations.
🍯 Dessert
Easy Cardamom Apple Cake: This easy apple cake is flavored with aromatic cardamom, bright orange zest and loaded with chunks of sweet apples.
Pistachio Baklava with Orange Blossom Syrup: Pistachio baklava is a sweet pastry made with layers of delicate phyllo dough, chopped pistachios and warm spices. Once baked, a fragrant orange blossom syrup is poured over and soaked into the baklava.
🗓️ Make-Ahead Tips
- Make the braised dishes ahead: The pomegranate short ribs, brisket, and chicken with dates can all be made one to two days ahead. In fact, braised dishes taste even better the next day. Refrigerate, then gently reheat before serving.
- Make dessert ahead: The cardamom apple cake and baklava are both great desserts to make one to two days ahead. This frees up oven space and gives you one less thing to worry about on the day of the meal.
- Prepare the Persian jeweled rice ahead: The rice can be made earlier in the day and served warm or at room temperature.
- Get a head start on the challah: Challah dough can be prepared the day before and refrigerated overnight for a slower rise. Bring it to room temperature, shape, fill, and bake the next day.
- Prep the challah fillings: For the apple challah, roast the cinnamon apples ahead of time and refrigerate until you're ready to assemble. The fig filling can also be cooked down into a paste ahead of time and refrigerated until needed.
- Save the last-minute cooking for the simple things: Once the main dishes and desserts are taken care of, leave the finishing touches for the day of, such as roasting the carrots, baking the challah and garnishing.
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