Rosh Hashanah Recipes #1: Starters & Sides

The itrek Team

August 18, 2021

Rosh Hashanah is just around the corner! In honor of the Jewish New Year, we’ve prepared the perfect celebratory meals for you to wow your friends and family– all from THE ITREK COOKBOOK: A Journey Through Israel’s Food Culture.

Get your meal started with some delicious starters and side dishes: Watermelon and Salt-Baked Fish Salad with Beets, Bourekas with Meat Filling, and Grape Salad with Sumac and Onions.

Watermelon and Salt-baked Fish Salad with Beets

4 servings

At the market

10 chard leaves, rinsed, central stem removed

¼ watermelon, cut into 1cm (⅓-inch) slices and chopped into 3-cm

(1¼-inch) pieces

1 green hot chili pepper, sliced

1 salt-baked fish, bones removed and the flesh separated into large

chunks (see recipe below)

2 salt-baked beets, peeled and sliced

½ cup olive oil

½ lemon, juiced

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

In the kitchen

Slice the chard leaves in four crosswise and transfer to a skillet or a wide pot. Top with ¼ cup olive oil and set over a high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chard wilts a bit but is still green, about 5 minutes.

Transfer the leaves to a bowl and add the watermelon, chili pepper and the shredded fish. Season with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and toss. Add the beets and mix gently – the beets are added last so that they do not dye the salad purple.

Bourekas with Meat Filling

36 pastries

In the kitchen

Heat the water until it is almost boiling and pour into a wide bowl. Add the salt and oil. Gradually add about 4 cups of flour, mixing with a fork and moving on to kneading when the mixture is thick enough. Adding flour as needed, knead until the dough is soft, flexible, and easily separates from the sides of the bowl. Knead the dough a few minutes longer on a work surface, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

To make the bureks, preheat the oven to 210°C (410°F).

Divide the dough into 3 equal parts. Using a rolling pin, roll each part into a 3-mm thick sheet (about 1/10-inch). The dough should be fatty and pliable enough not to require more flour, but if it is too sticky, lightly flour the work surface and the rolling pin and roll again.

Using a wide-mouthed glass or a pastry ring, cut the dough into 8-cm wide circles (about 3-inches).

Put a heaping tablespoon of filling at the center of each circle, fold in half, and seal tightly with your fingers to make a half-moon-shaped parcel. Transfer the parcels to a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, until the pastries are lightly golden (you can brush the pastries with some egg, but the high fat content in the dough will give it a nice golden color regardless).

Serve warm on a wide tray, along with slices of fresh tomato and cucumber.

Meat filling

At the market

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 large white onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

½ kg (1 lb) ground veal or lamb meat mixed with ground beef

1 bunch parsley, chopped

½ cup pine nuts (optional)

3 tablespoons white flour

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

In the kitchen

Heat the olive oil in a pot over a high heat. Add the onion and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant but not burnt. Add the ground meat and cook until browned and lightly seared, using a wooden spoon to crumble it. Add the parsley and pine nuts, if using. Sprinkle the flour and mix well, stirring it into the fat pooled at the bottom of the pot. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the mixture thickens and binds together (thanks to the flour), taking care not to overcook it. Let cool before using.

Grape Salad with Sumac and Onions

4 servings

At the market

1 medium-sized red onion, thinly sliced crosswise

1 heaping tablespoon ground sumac

2 cups red grapes, cut in half lengthwise

2 cups green grapes, cut in half lengthwise

6-8 scallions, cut diagonally into 2-cm pieces (a little less than 1-inch)

¼ cup good quality olive oil

½ lemon, juiced

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

In the kitchen

Place the onion slices, sumac and some salt in a bowl and toss well, massaging the onion slices with your hands to soften them a little. Add the grapes and scallions.

Season with olive oil, lemon juice and black pepper. Toss and taste, adding more seasoning if needed.

Serve with fresh, crisp lettuce leaves and a glass of chilled white wine.