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Roast Chicken with Barley & Vegetables
Liz Alpern, co-founder of the Gefilteria introduces this recipe: This dish makes for a fragrant meal that is unique enough for Friday night and simple enough for a weekday evening. While roast chicken is a classic centerpiece on the contemporary Jewish table, the earthiness of the mushrooms and barley in this recipe give it a decidedly Old World feel.
SERVES 4 TO 6
Ingredients
¾ cup pearl barley
1 dried bay leaf
3½ teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
4 scallions, coarsely chopped
1 pound mixed fresh mushrooms, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil or schmaltz (page 35)
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2½ to 3 pounds chicken pieces, cleaned and patted dry
¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Instructions
1. In a medium pot, combine the barley, bay leaf, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Add enough water to cover the barley by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 18 to 20 minutes, until the barley is half cooked but still al dente. Strain and remove the bay leaf. Toss the barley with the scallions, mushrooms, and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil or schmaltz. It may seem like too many mushrooms, but they will shrink in the oven.
2. Preheat oven to 425ºF.
3. Combine the remaining 2½ teaspoons salt, the garlic, and the pepper. Rub the mixture on the chicken pieces, getting it between the skin and the flesh if possible. Place the chicken pieces on a baking sheet, skin side up. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil or schmaltz. On a separate baking sheet, spread out the barley-mushroom mixture in an even layer.
4. Transfer both baking sheets to the preheated oven and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, until the barley is cooked through and the chicken is evenly colored when sliced in the thickest part. You can also test the internal temperature, which should register 165ºF when done.
5. Transfer the chicken to a plate and pour any juices from the baking sheet onto the barley-mushroom mixture. Add the parsley and vinegar to the mixture and stir to combine. Taste and season with additional salt if necessary. Serve the chicken pieces with a heaping portion of the barley-mushroom mixture. Garnish with additional parsley.
Excerpted from the book THE GEFILTE MANIFESTO by Jeffrey Yoskowitz & Liz Alpern. Copyright © 2016 by Gefilte Manifesto LLC. Reprinted with permission from Flatiron Books. All rights reserved. Photography by Lauren Volo.
Recipe by Paige Erlich
I love cooking and hosting events so much that I’ve turned it into a side hobby, sharing my favorite recipes and hosting tips on Instagram at @PaigePlates. When hosting Shabbat dinner or picnicking in the park with my friends, I’m particularly fond of sharing charcuterie or cheese boards, which are fun to both make and eat. And while they’re so beautiful that they always look impressive, they’re fairly easy to assemble – especially with a little bit of forethought and planning.
I always like to choose a theme for my cheese boards, and as it turns out, Rosh HaShanah is a built-in theme! Traditional holiday foods like apples, honey, dates, figs, and pomegranates are all perfect for cheese boards, and each pairs nicely with various cheeses.
Here’s how to go about creating your own Rosh HaShanah cheese board, whether to serve as a holiday appetizer or a lunchtime indulgence during the Yamim Noraim.
First, choose your cheeses. Lots of varieties of cheese pair well with apples and honey, so you have plenty to choose from. I'm no expert, but I recommend choosing three to four types (depending on the size of your cheese board) that vary in degrees hardness and softness.
I chose three cheeses, two hard and one soft: manchego, which is popularly paired with honey; white cheddar, which complements the crisp tartness of apples; and Brie, a soft cheese that goes well with just about everything. You may wish to use goat cheese, blue cheese, gouda… truly, the combinations are endless, and the good news is that all of them will taste great.
Jewish cooking expert Tina Wasserman explains, “Apples and honey: For Ashkenazi Jews, these words are an inseparable pairing. We dip a slice of apple in honey to express our hopes for a sweet and fruitful year.”
For your cheese board, choose whatever kind of apples you like best or find in season – or even pick your own at an orchard! I went with my favorites, Red Delicious, and arranged them in a long, swirling design as the vibrant centerpiece of my cheeseboard.
I put a small bowl of honey on my cheese board, complete with a little honey stick, both for show and for functionality. I recommend getting creative with different types of honey, mixing up the kinds (wildflower, raw, etc.), flavors (spicy, lavender, etc.) and even the hues.
Another special treat, and one that I love using on cheeseboards, is honeycomb, which is completely edible, oozes with honey, and lends an interesting, chewy texture. I purchase mine from a local company (with thanks to Busy Bees NJ) for a special Rosh HaShanah touch on my holiday cheese boards.
I wanted to add a few other Rosh HaShanah and fall-themed food elements to my cheeseboard, so I turned to figs and pomegranates.
At Rosh HaShanah, we eat “new fruits,” those that have just ripened with the coming of the season. Figs are one such fruit, only in season for a short amount of time in late summer and early fall. They’re delicious and look beautiful on a cheese board board, adding color and texture; importantly, they also pair well with both cheese and honey.
Pomegranates are commonly associated with Judaism because they are thought to contain 613 seeds, the same number of mitzvot (commandments) we find in the Torah. Chris Harrison writes, “This allegory encourages us to fulfill mitzvot and live righteous lives.” Cut open a pomegranate to add color, texture, and sweet, juicy bursts of flavor to your holiday cheese board.
I didn't use dates on my cheese board, but they're often found on the Sephardic seder plate this time of year, and they're another possible addition. Tamar, or “date” in Hebrew, is similar to the word yitamu, which means “to end.” In addition to its sweetness, the date wishes an “end” to those who wish us ill will. Sweet dates make for a great, textured addition to your Rosh HaShanah cheese board.
Cheese and fruit both pair well with a variety of nuts, which fill up space on your cheese board and add a little bit of protein. When the rest of my board elements were in place, I filled up the remaining nooks and crannies with walnuts.
Sephardic Jews often enjoy tispishti, a walnut cake with sweet syrup, to celebrate the Jewish new year, which make walnuts a nice and traditional choice for a Rosh HaShanah cheese board. You can also try pecans, almonds, pistachios, or anything else that sounds good to you.
While I chose to feature honey as the star of my cheese board, other condiments like jams, jellies, preserves, and chutneys can make for a tasty addition, too.
To stick with the Rosh HaShanah theme, consider options like fig jam, apple butter, quince paste, pomegranate spread, or even homemade dulce de manzana (apple preserves). If you want to go in a more Sephardic direction, you can incorporate flavors like pumpkin ( k’ra ), traditionally consumed at the start of the new year – and also very much in keeping with the autumn season!
Don’t forget to add some crackers to your cheese board to make it easy to create tiny, handheld bites. Simply choose whatever cracker(s) you like best! I went with round multigrain crackers, but you can also add any other type of cracker, pretzel crisps, pita chips, bagel chips, dried fruit- and nut-studded crisps…… whatever suits your fancy.
You can also set out a traditional round challah to use instead or in addition to crackers.
Once you’ve chosen all of the elements of your cheese board get to work assembling it in a way that’s creative and beautiful – and then go wild creating your own small bites with various combinations of ingredients. Here are a few I love:
What combinations will you choose? If you create your own Rosh HaShanah masterpiece, be sure to tag us on social media (we’re @ReformJudaism on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram) so we can ooh and ahh over your creation!
Grilled Chicken Wedge Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing
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By Shannon Sarna for The Nosher
Ingredients
4 lbs sweet potatoes
2 lb Russet potatoes
1 lb pitted prunes
1 lb baby carrots, or whole carrots cut into 1 inch pieces
3 lbs flanken
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
Directions:
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