When I sat down to write this post I had to take a few minutes to research the many simanim we eat by Rosh Hashanah. I ended up spending quite a bit of time reading up about the reasons we eat these foods, they are foods we eat all year round but yet their incredible significance is truly seen around Rosh Hashanah. Foods such as dates and leeks are connected to the destruction of our enemies, pomegranates for increasing our spiritual merit, and carrots for abundance, just to name a few. Below are 15 sides and mains that prominently featured some of the most well known of the simanim– don’t worry, you won’t find any recipes for fish head or ram’s head below!
This Sweet Potato and Leek Soupputs leeks, a siman for destroying our enemies, front and center as does the Spicy Sauteed Leeks and Spinach. If you’re looking for a tzimmes that is chock full of nutrients and is really easy to prepare, try the Sweet Potato and Carrot Bake, Beet Tzimmes or the Tzimmes Stuffed Butternut. The Katz Tzimmes would make for a hearty and delicious main dish, it has all the traditional favorites including flanken, knaidelach (matzo ball) mix and kishke.
In Hebrew the word for beans relates to the words many and heart, some people have a tradition of saying a blessing over the beans during the seudah which asks that our spiritual merits be increased and that we will become empowered. Many people serve black-eyed peas for this purpose, two great recipes are the Brazilian Onion and Garlic Rice with Black Eyed Peas and Black-Eyed Peas with Mustard Greens.
Similar to black-eyed peas, pomegranates are a siman for increasing spiritual merit. Try the Pomegranate Glazed Carrots as a side or the Pomegranate Wine Osso Buco as satisfying main dish. Other ideas include simanim packed sides with pomegranate dressings, such as the Simanim Salad with Pomegranate Balsamic Dressing or the Apple, Fennel & Roasted Beets with Pomegranate Vinaigrette.
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In Hebrew the word for dates is a play on words which signifies “may our enemies be destroyed”. Dates and date honey are a delicious and healthy way to add flavor to sides or mains. Try the Date and Honey Glazed Chicken Thighs, Bulgur with Carrots, Nuts, and Dates or the Roasted Apple Slices with Date Honey(if you don’t use margarine, substitute with coconut oil instead, but use a bit less oil than is called for).
Check out more Rosh Hashanah ideas here!
Those sound delicious
For leeks, my Sephardic family makes “Albondigas De Prasa”. We mix ground beef with chopped cooked leeks and add eggs and matza meal and spices to make small patties that can be served fried or broiled or cooked in tomato sauce. Leeks in Hebrew comes from the word לכרת which means to cut off . “May it be your will God of our fathers and mothers that our enemies be cut off from us” we always have those on our Tray of Blessings or as it is called “Yehi Ratzones tray”.