Our Absolute Best Rosh Hashanah Recipes

Ring in the new year with open hearts and good appetites

By September 21, 2017

Rye Bread Pudding (Maizes Zupa)
Todd Coleman

Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year and the first of the religion’s High Holy Days in autumn. With festivities continuing until sundown on Friday, it is a time to pause and absorb the simple pleasures of feasting and family. Slowly braised dishes embrace the meditative nature of the holiday, while crisp fall apples dipped in honey conjure the sweetness of the year to come. From rye bread pudding to challah knots, here are our best Rosh Hashanah recipes.

A delicious way to use leftover rye bread, this sweet pudding enhances the bread’s tangy flavor with the addition of spices and dried fruits.

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Holishkes)

These beef-stuffed cabbage rolls in a tangy sauce are oven-braised until tender. This recipe first appeared in our October 2011 issue along with Katie Robbins’s story Season of Rejoicing. Get the recipe for Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Holishkes) »

Spinach and Cheese Breadcrumb Dumplings (Strangolapreti)

Strangolapreti is a Trentan party food, a luxurious, cheesy dish made with frugal ingredients. Jonathon Sawyer of Cleveland’s Trentina days day-old bread, blanched spinach, ricotta, and egg to make a dumpling filled with ooey-gooey cheese. Get the recipe for Spinach and Cheese Breadcrumb Dumplings (Strangolapreti) »

Challot (Challah Knots)

These fluffy, brioche-like rolls are traditionally served on Jewish holidays, but they’re perfect for any occasion. This recipe first appeared in our October 2011 issue along with Katie Robbins’s story Season of Rejoicing. Get the recipe Challot (Challah Knots) »

Nanny’s Rosh Hashanah Apple Cake

With a streusel topping and pie-like dough, this Rosh Hashanah apple dessert is half cake, half pie. Get the recipe for Nanny’s Rosh Hashanah Apple Cake »

Carrot and Pistachio Salad

Carrots are roasted before being topped with crunchy pistachios and a sweet fig vinaigrette in a simple salad from Eli and Max Sussman’s Classic Recipes for Modern People (Olive Press, 2015). Get the recipe for Carrot and Pistachio Salad »

Aunt Gillie’s Matzo Ball Soup

Chicken soup may or may not be a cure-all for physical and psychic ills, but if you add a few matzo balls it definitely becomes a deli classic. This recipe, from Gillie Feuer of Long Island, New York, was a tightly held secret, until we pried it loose. The key? Lots of veggies, and her light and floaty dumplings: “They’re very well behaved,” she told us. “They plump up just like little dolls.” The trick? “Margarine.” But, she warned, “I’m not perfect. You can see my fingerprints on them.” It might just be the fingerprints that make them so good. Get the recipe for Aunt Gillie’s Matzo Ball Soup »

Dark Chocolate Matzo Brittle

You can tailor this crisp kosher dessert by using white, milk or dark chocolate, sliced almonds or dried cranberries, or even omitting the chocolate all together. Get the recipe for Dark Chocolate Matzo Brittle »

Gefilte Fish Terrine

Traditional gefilte fish recipes call for fish balls poached in stock, but New York City chefs, authors, and brothers Eli and Max Sussman like to bake their gefilte fish in a loaf pan with a water bath. They also add salmon for a richer, fuller flavor. Adapted from their new cookbook, Classic Recipes for Modern People (Weldon Owen). Featured in: A Gefilte Fishing Expedition Get the recipe for Gefilte Fish Terrine »

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