This is a classic Rosh Hashana plate, at least at my house: sugary tsimmis, briskit and onions, noodle kugel (this variety is gluten-free, thanks to/because of Rachel), and even a little bit of apple and honey. And guess what? In a minute or less, this plate will be clean.
I forgot to mention: we did not have leftovers. Not one bite of the 3 lbs of meat, the casserole of kugel, or the ginormous challah remained the next morning. The only evidence of our meal was a tiny bit of tsimmis. And, let’s be real, the mess in our kitchen.
Anyway. One of the upsides to Jewish cooking is that for the most part, it’s incredibly easy to prepare. Most dishes just require a simple prep and then a really long time in the oven or on the stovetop. Prep for these two dishes took about an hour total, mostly due to my slow vegetable-chopping and my desperate attempts to get the meat to defrost (if you’re not paying your water bill, running it under slightly warm water works really well). And the rest was just sitting around, waiting for them to cook.
Briskit ingredients:
-3 lbs London Broil shoulder roast* (Fed 6 girls. Take that as you will.)
-Salt & pepper
-Paprika
-Cayenne
-Garlic
-1/3 cup light brown sugar
-2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
-1/2 cup ketchup
-1 1/2 onions, sliced
-1/8 cup water
*Chuck is traditional, but here’s where I break with tradition for the sake of good quality meat.
Step 1: Season meat with salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne, and garlic.
Step 2: Spread chopped onions over the meat
Step 3: Whisk together ketchup, apple cider vinegar, and brown sugar.
Step 4: Pour sauce over meat. Add water to pan.
Step 5: Cover baking dish lightly with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 75 minutes. The result:
Step 6: Slice on the diagonal. EAT.
While your briskit’s cooking, it’s time to start the tsimmis!
Ingredients:
-1 cup water
-1 bunch carrots, chopped
-3 apples, chopped (macintoshes work well)
-1 onion, chopped
-Raisins
-1 cup apple cider
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-1/2 tsp salt
-Cinnamon
-Nutmeg
-1 tbsp vanilla extract
Step 1: In a large saucepan with a lid, boil water. Chop your produce.
Step 2: Add all your ingredients. Yup, all at once. Cover and turn down heat. Let simmer for 45 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
And that’s it for my traditional Jewish cooking tutorial. Stay tuned for dessert!
L’Shana Tova, y’all!
APPLES AND BANANANAS 