Sukkot — the feast of booths. We tend to associate the holiday exclusively with its literal meaning – an outside abode, reminiscent of the temporary dwellings used by the Israelites during their 40 years of desert wandering after the Exodus.
But Sukkot is also an agricultural holiday, celebrating the abundance of autumn, akin to Thanksgiving or what in Germany is called “Erntedankfest”, a festival of thanksgiving for the harvest. For us as Jews, we have the privilege of combining hearty, warm fall fare in the somewhat chilly but atmospheric environment of the sukkah. (Of course with snow coming our way this week, we may end up soaking up the atmosphere indoors, only gazing at the sukkah through the frost tinted glass of our windows!)
Picking up on the harvest aspect of the festival, we’ve got two recipes for you utilizing seasonal foods, and they’re both parve, making them easy to incorporate into whatever menu you’re considering.
For a Pumpkin-Coconut Milk Soup, saute an onion in olive oil, adding two each finely chopped garlic cloves and shallots. Add 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon each cumin, ginger and ground coriander and 1 small red chili, chopped. Saute on medium until softened (around 7-10 minutes). Add 4 cups peeled and diced pumpkin and saute for a further 10 minutes. (Alternatively, you can use 1 can pumpkin puree.) Add 1 can coconut milk, and 2 cups of broth*. Cook covered on low until the pumpkin softens or at least 40 minutes. Blend in batches; if soup is too thick, add more broth in 1/2 cups. Season to taste and garnish with Thai basil if available or cilantro.
*If serving with a fleishig meal, consider using chicken brothe for a fuller flavor.
A perfect, simple side dish for an autumn meal is Glazed Chestnuts. It takes all of 10 minutes to prepare this dish from start to finish. Simply melt a good chunk of margarine* in a good quality, thick-bottomed frying pan, add whole, cooked chestnuts (usually sold in a vacuum packed container), add a couple sprinklings of demerera or brown sugar and cook on medium-high for 5-7 minutes or until the chestnuts have a beautiful sheen and your kitchen is wonderfully aromatic. Make sure to stir the chestnuts to prevent burning. Serve alongside any number of dishes, including stuffed cabbage, brussels sprouts, sweet and sour red cabbage with apples, cranberry sauce…you get the idea!
*If serving with a dairy meal, using butter instead of margarine is highly recommended.
Happy cooking and wonderful Sukkot to all!
