Friday, March 29, 2024 -
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Rosh Hashanah in the summer

The days are still long. The sun is still bright. Yet Rosh Hashanah is rapidly approaching. With its early arrival, it makes it hard to want to turn on the oven and heat the house. Labor Day is just days before Rosh Hashanah. It’s still grilling season.

As a result of the early holiday, it allows for a change of foods and flavors. Embrace that Rosh Hashanah is early because you just might find that new favorite dish.

Mary Fabrikant, owner of Le Vie Catering, recommends utilizing the summer produce that is still in season.

“We have so much more to play with. We are still going to have fresh corn and fresh tomatoes. Instead of roasted vegetables, have fresh, maybe steamed or grilled vegetables. It is summer, still.”

Utilizing the grill will decrease the amount of time the oven has to be on and creates the summer flavors everyone is accustomed to. For the main dish, Fabrikant recommends making grilled adobo-marinated steak with a chimichurri sauce. A side dish that can be made on the grill is grilled eggplant.

Fabrikant normally thinks of eggplant as having “fall characteristics but I think this eggplant salad is an exception to the ‘fall’ rule. Its char-grilled characteristics definitely push it over into the summer category.”

Another summer staple is the peach. It is such a juicy fruit that adds to the sweet atmosphere of Rosh Hashanah.

“This year, in the first week of September, we are in the middle of Colorado Palisade peach season. I think we should have a peach dessert, and of course an apple dessert because it’s Rosh Hashanah,” says Fabrikant.

“Including peaches would be a great play on the summer nature of Rosh Hashanah.”

Whatever suits you, as Fabrikant says, “plan ahead, plan ahead, plan ahead.”

Cooking is a way of expressing creativity. Even if it’s not your favorite thing to do, “guest feedback is immediate, and generally positive.

“In my experience, all those compliments fortify the confidence of cooks and hosts and make them want to do it again,” explains Fabrikant.

The IJN’s Rosh Hashanah Foods section includes Fabrikant’s summer-inspired recipes for: Tomato-Corn Sauté; Green Bean Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette & Toasted Pecans; Grilled Eggplant with Toasted Pine Nuts; Palisades Peach Shortcake with Gingered Whipped Topping.

Visit the IJN blog, Rocky Mountain Jew, for selected recipes, including the peach shortcake and tomato-corn sauté, and photos from our test kitchen. 

Copyright © 2013 by the Intermountain Jewish News




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