Published: September 12, 2007 12:13 am            

Savoring the traditions of Rosh Hashana

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — One week ago, Beth Swartz got started on an annual holiday tradition. After dinner, she turned on her oven to cook sweet and sour meatballs.

“I started at 7 o’clock and I turned the oven off at about 11,” said Swartz, who lives in Andover.

It was the first of what would be seven straight days spent in the kitchen preparing for Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year that starts Wednesday at sundown and continues until Friday.

Thursday night, more than a dozen friends and family members will gather at Swartz’s home to enjoy meatballs, chicken soup, brisket and her grandmother’s blintzes — meat- and potato-filled crepes.

Food is a central part of Rosh Hashana, and the weeklong preparations are a tradition for Swartz and other Jewish families North of Boston, many of whom will spend Thursday morning in temple and then return home for a midafternoon feast.

While the main celebration tends to be Thursday, some families will enjoy a large meal each day of Rosh Hashana. In Swartz’s family, she will cook and host the bountiful late-afternoon meal one day, and her sister will coordinate the other.

Last Wednesday, Swartz traveled to three different supermarkets to pick up all the food for her meal. Then she started baking, making things she could freeze or elements that take a long time to prepare, like the blintzes.

Swartz does most of the preparations herself, putting in three- or four-hour blocks of time each day in the week leading up to the holiday. But sometimes, she gets a little help.

“I have a daughter who is out of college and working, and if she’s around, then she’ll help,” she said. “And my son, who is 18, I usually give him a job. They’re both very much into the Food Network.”

The food for Rosh Hashana includes sweet elements often rich with honey, symbolic of the native date blossom honey the Israelites ate in Old Testament times.

“The whole idea is to ring in the sweetness of the new year,” explained Julie Sagan of Swampscott.

Sagan, who is helping her sister and mother-in-law cook for 22 people this year, is making a sweet potato and carrot dish topped with syrup. Apples with honey are also a popular Rosh Hashana dessert.

For Lori Burke of North Andover, the practice of cooking for several days in anticipation of Rosh Hashana has been in her family for generations.

“My mother passed the reins to us six or seven years ago,” said Burke, who is sharing cooking duties with her mother, sister and sister-in-law.

“For us, it’s tradition. These are meals that I had in my grandparents’ home and my mother cooked and has passed down to us,” she said. “It’s important for me to pass it on to my children.”

Swartz has been cooking since she was a child. She remembers preparing her first meal at age 9 when her mother was sick in bed and gave her instructions.

Now, she’s a pro. After getting married and buying a house in 1980, she’s been fixing the spread for Rosh Hashana, Passover and Thanksgiving for close to 30 years.

“I couldn’t imagine not doing this,” Swartz said. “It’s a lot of work, but there is a reward in the end. Everyone gets to reap.”



Rebecca Schoonmaker writes The Eagle-Tribune of North Andover, Mass.





Apple tart

Crust ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes

2 tablespoons (or more) ice water

Fruit:

11/2 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/8 inch-thick slices

4 tablespoons sugar, divided

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel

1/4 cup apricot preserves

Whole milk

Instructions:

For crust:

Blend flour and salt in processor. Add butter and blend, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons ice water and blend just until dough begins to clump together, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill one hour. Dough may be made two days ahead. Keep chilled.

Soften dough slightly at room temperature before rolling out.

Roll out dough between sheets of parchment paper into a 1/8 inch-thick circle measuring 14 inches in diameter. Remove top sheet of parchment. Using bottom sheet as an aid, transfer dough on parchment to large unrimmed baking sheet. Chill 15 minutes.

For filling:

Combine apple slices, 2 tablespoons sugar and lemon peel in medium bowl; toss to blend. Spread preserves over crust, leaving 11/2-inch border. Arrange apple slices in concentric circles atop preserves, overlapping slightly. Using the parchment as an aid, fold plain crust border up over apples, pinching any cracks in crust. Brush crust with milk. Sprinkle crust edges and apples with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.

Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue baking until crust is golden, about 30 minutes longer. Remove from oven. Slide long, thin knife between parchment and tart. Let stand at least 10 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.

— Lori Burke of North Andover



Kugel (sweet casserole-like dish)

Ingredients:

8 ounces broad egg noodles, cooked

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup sugar

Dash of salt

4 eggs, beaten well

1 can apple pie filling

Instructions:

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a 13-by-9-inch Pyrex dish. Mix the above ingredients except the apple filling in a bowl and pour into the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and spread apple pie filling on top. Bake an additional 30 minutes. You can sprinkle the top with cinnamon if you like.

— Julie Sagan of Swampscott



Brisket

Ingredients:

8 to 10 ounces first-cut brisket (leaner portion)

2 10.75-ounce cans condensed tomato soup

1 cup water

1/2 cup red (or white) wine

1 cup ginger ale

12-ounce package baby carrots

1 to 2 tablespoons onion flakes, to taste

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Place brisket in roasting pan and add all ingredients. Cook covered at 250 degrees for 21/2 to 3 hours

(until tender and cooked through).

Slice when cool. Best if made a day or more ahead.



Farfel (small rice-shaped noodles)

Ingredients:

1 8-ounce box of farfel, found in the kosher food

section

1 onion, chopped

1 8-ounce package of mushrooms, sliced

1 14-ounce can chicken broth

6 cups water

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Bring 6 cups water to a boil. Add farfel and cook 15 minutes. Drain well and place in a greased, oven-proof dish.

In a separate pan, sauté onion in oil until brown. Add mushrooms until cooked through. Add onions and mushrooms to farfel and mix well. Add chicken broth and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Bake covered for one hour at 350 degrees.

— Recipes by Lori Burke of North Andover

        

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