Sweeten the Jewish New Year with carrots, apples and honey
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year and occurs not at the turn of the calendar year, but in the early fall. One popular holiday custom is eating apples dipped in honey, a tasty symbol of the wishes for a sweet year ahead.
Many dishes served during Rosh Hashanah also feature apples and honey, including tzimmes (pronounced tsim-mess). It is a savory slow-cooked combination of fall vegetables such as carrots and potatoes, or of meat and vegetables, often with dried fruit such as apples, apricots or prunes, that is stewed or baked in a casserole slightly sweetened with honey.
My Jewish grandmother-on-call is Gloria Smiley, an alumnus of Le Cordon Bleu and École de Cuisine La Varenne. She’s a longtime cooking teacher and food stylist for print and film in Atlanta. She explained that the Yiddish term tzimmes means “a mishmash” or “something all jumbled together.”
Smiley most often uses carrots and sometimes dried apples in her tzimmes. I’ve taken her traditional recipe and given it a good and good for you glow-up using freshly sliced apples and amped up the flavor with freshly grated ginger and orange zest. When I texted her a photo of my colorful creation, she responded, “That is a beautiful tzimmes!”
Shana Tova!
Carrot Apple Tzimmes
Traditional tzimmes is often a long-cooked dish, creating a comforting mashup. This quicker version keeps the carrots and apples crispy and bright, both in flavor and in texture. Enjoy as a side dish with classic brisket or alongside baked chicken or fish.
- 4-5 carrots (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into ¼-inch coins
- 2 cups water
- ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt, divided
- 2 tablespoons plant butter or margarine
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- Zest and juice of 1 orange (about ½ cup)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 2 small apples, such as Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Jonagold and Granny Smith, cored and sliced 1/8-inch thick
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
- Place the carrots in a small saucepan. Add water to cover, about 2 cups. Season with half the salt (¼ teaspoon). Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat the plant butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook until foaming, about 2 minutes. Add the orange zest and juice, honey and ginger. Stir to combine and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture has slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.
- Drain the carrots. Add the drained carrots and apple slices to the orange sauce. Add the remaining ¼ teaspoon of salt and pepper; stir to combine and coat. Transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.
Serves 4.
Per serving: 186 calories (percent of calories from fat, 29), 2 grams protein, 31 grams carbohydrates, 20 grams total sugars, 5 grams fiber, 6 grams total fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 283 milligrams sodium.
More Stories
The Latest
