It's easy to love a holiday honoring honey. No wonder everyone looks forward to the two-day celebration of Rosh Hashanah (this year beginning at sundown on September 29). The unique tradition of starting the Jewish New Year dinner by dipping apple wedges in honey is appealing in more ways than one.

Of course, its primary reason is to get everyone in a festive mood. But this delicious practice also teaches us to appreciate honey's goodness and our good fortune in having it readily available.

Part of the rationale behind honey's centrality to the holiday lies in ancient history. In biblical days, there was no sugar. Honey symbolized pleasure and was so important that the ancient Land of Israel is referred to in the Torah as "the land of milk and honey."

In those days, getting honey certainly wasn't as simple as opening a jar! Naturally, the people who had to obtain the honey from the beehive didn't have the protective headgear or special clothing worn today. To prevent too many bees from attacking them, they had to use smoke to try to drive them away while they took some of the hive's sweet treasure. They knew that they had to leave some honey in the hive to nourish the bees.

Straight from the hive, the honey wasn't in a form convenient to use for cooking. Extracting the honey from the honeycomb required plenty of effort.

We're lucky that we can easily find several kinds of honey at the market, each with its own flavor. In general, lighter-colored honey has a milder taste than darker types.

On numerous New Year tables honey also contributes its incomparable flavor to challah, entrees, vegetable dishes and, of course, desserts. With honey's history, symbolism and importance in the Torah, it's not surprising that honey cake has become a prized Rosh Hashanah sweet.

Eating honey is not the only Jewish New Year tradition. Many other foods stand for the hope for a sweet year. In many households, preference is given to sweet vegetables, such as sweet potatoes and winter squashes. Perhaps most widespread is the custom of serving carrots; not only are they sweet, but when you slice them in rounds, they symbolize coins, to represent a year of prosperity. Other sweet vegetables that I like to incorporate in the menu are sweet corn and bell peppers.

The prominence of vegetables and fruits in the holiday menu is partly due to the date of Rosh Hashanah; it coincides with the beginning of the agricultural year in ancient Israel. In addition, the healthful practice of eating plenty of produce emphasizes thankfulness for the season's bounty.

Specific foods have other allegoric roles on the menu. A fish course appears on most tables to represent fertility. In many Sephardi families the menu features cooked greens such as Swiss chard, which stand for the hope for plenty of vegetables at the harvest, rice and black eyed peas to express a wish for abundance and leeks and beets to allude to divine protection (because their names sound like Hebrew words for beating back those who seek to harm you).

Although culinary novelty is not a divine commandment, on the second day of Rosh Hashanah Jews are encouraged to eat a new, uncommon or exotic fruit. We say a blessing over it, giving thanks for having lived to this day (to experience the delight of eating the fruit). Biblical fruits like pomegranates, dates and figs are popular picks in Israel but each cook chooses whatever most pleases his or her family.

HUNGARIAN HALIBUT

For this savory first course, the fish bakes in a sweet bell pepper and tomato sauce. For Rosh Hashanah it's more likely to be served as a cold appetizer but it's also good hot. You can prepare it a day ahead. In fact, the fish continues to gain flavor as it chills. If you like, substitute sea bass, cod or other white-fleshed fish for the halibut.

1 pound green, red and yellow bell peppers

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 medium onion, halved and sliced thin

2 teaspoons paprika

1-1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, diced or a 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Pinch hot paprika or cayenne (optional)

2 pounds halibut fillets, about 1 inch thick

Cut peppers in strips about 1/2 inch wide and 2 to 3 inches long. Heat oil in a medium skillet. Add onion and saute over medium-low heat 5 minutes or until beginning to turn golden. Add peppers and saute, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Add paprika and saute for 1 minute, stirring.

Add tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes or until peppers are tender and mixture is thick. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding hot paprika if desired.

Preheat oven to 425 F. Lightly oil a shallow baking dish large enough to hold fish in a single layer. Reheat pepper-tomato sauce if necessary. Spread half of sauce in dish. Arrange halibut fillets on top, in one layer. Season them lightly with salt and pepper. Spread remaining sauce over fish.

Bake uncovered about 15 minutes or until thickest part of fish has changed color inside when checked with a thin, sharp knife. Serve hot or chilled.

Makes 6 main-course or 8 to 10 appetizer servings.

ADI'S KIBBUTZ CHICKEN WITH HONEY

My niece Adi Levy learned this dish when she worked in a kibbutz kitchen in Israel. The chicken is partially roasted, and then finishes cooking with a honey-soy sauce flavored with white wine, which forms a sweet glaze. Rice embellished with pistachios and raisins makes a good accompaniment.

A 3-1/2- to 4-pound chicken

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup dry white wine

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1-1/2 cups chicken stock, broth or water

1 teaspoon potato starch or cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Reserve chicken neck and giblets. Pull out fat from inside chicken. Truss chicken if desired.

Set chicken on a rack in a heavy roasting pan. Roast chicken for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, mix 3 tablespoons honey with the wine, soy sauce and pepper in a small bowl. Remove chicken from oven and brush all over with honey mixture. Add 1/2 cup stock to roasting pan.

Roast chicken 20 more minutes. Turn chicken over. If it's browning too fast, cover it with foil. If pan is dry, add a few tablespoons stock. Roast 10 to 20 minutes longer or until it is done. Juices should run clear when thickest part of thigh is pierced with thin knife or skewer; if juices are pink, roast a few more minutes and test again. Transfer chicken to a board, cover and keep warm.

To make sauce, remove roasting rack from pan. Skim fat from roasting juices in pan. Set roasting pan on a burner over medium heat. Add remaining stock and bring to a simmer, scraping browned juices into stock. Remove from heat. Strain juices into a medium saucepan. Skim fat again.

Bring juices to a simmer. Whisk potato starch mixture and gradually pour into simmering juices, whisking constantly. Return to a boil, whisking. Simmer 1 or 2 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in remaining tablespoon honey. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Carve chicken and serve with sauce.

Makes 4 servings.

PISTACHIO RICE PILAF WITH GOLDEN RAISINS

Rice is prepared and garnished in a festive way for the Jewish New Year, often with toasted nuts and raisins. If you're serving Honey Carrots Coins with Raisins and Cinnamon (see recipe below) in the same menu, substitute pomegranate seeds for the raisins in this pilaf.

2 or 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 small onion, minced

1 cup long-grain rice

2 cups hot chicken stock, broth or water

1 bay leaf

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup golden raisins or pomegranate seeds

1 teaspoon finely grated orange rind

1/3 to 1/2 cup shelled toasted pistachios

Heat oil in a deep skillet or saute pan, add onion and cook over low heat about 5 minutes or until tender. Add rice and saute over medium heat, stirring, about 2 minutes. Add hot stock, bay leaf, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Stir once. Cover and cook over low heat 10 minutes. Add raisins without stirring. Cover and cook about 8 minutes or until rice is just tender. Let stand off heat, covered, 10 minutes.

Fluff rice lightly with a fork. Using fork, lightly stir in orange rind. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve pilaf in a shallow bowl, garnished with pistachios.

Makes 4 servings.

HONEY CARROT COINS WITH RAISINS AND CINNAMON

Honey imparts richness to this healthful, kosher-for-meat-menus adaptation of French glazed carrots, which classically are cooked with butter and sugar. This lively side dish is popular with the students in my Jewish holiday cooking classes.

2 pounds carrots, sliced about 1/4 inch thick

2 cups water

Pinch of salt

2 or 3 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 to 1/3 cup raisins

2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Combine carrots, water and salt in a large saute pan or shallow saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.

Add honey, sugar, raisins, oil and cinnamon. Uncover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes or until carrots are very tender and liquid is absorbed. Watch so mixture does not burn.

If carrots are tender enough but liquid is too thin, remove carrots with a slotted spoon. Cook liquid uncovered over medium-high heat, stirring often, until it thickens. Do not let it brown or burn. Leave enough sauce in the pan to moisten the carrots. Return carrots to pan and heat through. Serve hot.

Makes 8 servings.

LIGHT HONEY CAKE WITH COCOA AND SWEET SPICES

Honey gives this cake a pleasing texture so that not much oil is needed and also helps it to keep well. Cocoa contributes a rich taste and a deep brown color. Bake this cake at least a day or two before the holiday so its flavor matures. If you wrap it tightly, the cake keeps up to 2 weeks at room temperature.

To retain honey's luxuriant texture, store it at room temperature. Refrigerating causes honey to crystallize. This can also happen if the honey sits on your shelf for a long time, especially during cold weather. If your honey solidifies, put the honey jar in a bowl of warm water until it liquefies.

Remember that honey is very sticky. When measuring honey, measure the oil for your recipe first or oil the measuring spoon or cup lightly before adding the honey. Then the honey will slide right out.

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

2 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup honey

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup water

1/3 to 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease an 8-inch-by-4-inch loaf pan, line base and sides with parchment paper or foil and grease paper or foil. Sift flour with cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and ginger.

Beat eggs lightly in mixer. Add sugar and honey and beat until mixture is very smooth and lightened in color. Gradually add oil and beat until blended. Stir in flour mixture alternately with water, each in two batches. Last stir in walnuts.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake about 50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool in pan for about 15 minutes. Turn out onto rack and carefully peel off paper. Wrap tightly in foil when completely cool. Serve in thin slices.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

 

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Rosh Hashanah: The Honey Holiday

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