Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, is rapidly approaching – the holiday begins at sunset on Oct. 2 – and Jews the world over are busily preparing.
How lucky we are in Orange County to have a gem of a Judaica shop, Golden Dreidle, on El Camino Real in nearby Tustin. Owned by Julie and Shahrokh Ghodsi, the Golden Dreidle, Orange County’s headquarters for all things Judaica, is in its 33rd year.
“Shahrokh had a successful jewelry business in downtown LA, but was gone six days a week,” Julie told me. “Whenever we needed Judaica, we’d run up to LA. We thought, we can’t be the only people in Orange County doing this.”
The store relocated to Tustin in January 2020, right before the coronavirus pandemic.
“We love Tustin,” Ghodsi said. “The community is wonderful to us.”
Looking for a hostess gift? You’ll find everything for the holiday from challah plates and challah covers to honey pots, especially the magnificent ones by Michael Aram.
“There are Kiddush cups to match,” Julie pointed out. “He keeps adding Judaica in the most beautiful way.”
And, of course, you’ll find Jewish cookbooks galore. See goldendreidle.com for more ideas.
Just in time for Rosh Hashana a new cookbook caught my eye.
More and more each year it seems we are cooking with our guest’s dietary restrictions in mind. “Nosh” by Micah Siva (The Collective Book Studio, $35) serves up more than 80 plant-forward recipes celebrating modern Jewish cuisine.
That vegan at your Rosh Hashana table will love this vegetable inspired take on gefilte fish, but best of all, so will the carnivores among you.
As Adeena Sussman, author of the wildly popular cookbooks “Sababa” and “Shabbat,” writes in the forward: “Of the many nice qualities about cooking with Micah is there isn’t even a whiff of preaching us or pretension. She makes gentle suggestions for how to live a more plant-based life, but there’s no arm-twisting or guilt (Jewish or otherwise). If this is your first ride on the plant-based train, it will be the steam engine to get you going. If you’ve already hopped on, this book will get you into the first-class car.”
The word “gefilte” is actually German for “stuffed.” The original recipe for gefilte fish, a traditional dish for Sabbath and holidays, called for seasoned, ground boned fish mixed with eggs and fillers, such as vegetables and crumbs, which was then stuffed back into the fish skin and cooked.
Over the centuries the skin was eliminated, with cooks shaping the mixture into balls or patties and poaching them.
Fish was expensive, and the recipe was developed as an economical way to stretch it so that every family member could get a taste. The dish has gotten a bad rap over the years due in part to the canned and bottled preparations, which, while convenient, cannot compare to authentic homemade.
You don’t have to be a vegan – or even Jewish – to appreciate Siva’s modern take on the classic.
Fullerton’s Judy Bart Kancigor is the author of “Cooking Jewish” and “The Perfect Passover Cookbook.” Her website is cookingjewish.com.
Vegan “Gefilte” Cakes
From “Nosh” by Micah Siva; yields 10 cakes
This vegan recipe uses a mixture of vegetables, seaweed and spices to mimic the flavor and textures of Siva’s great-grandmother Freda’s gefilte fish.
Ingredients:
• 2 medium carrots, scrubbed, 1 roughly chopped
• 1/4 head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 medium parsnip, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 medium russet potato, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/4 white onion, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup raw cashews,
• 1 sheet sushi nori, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup matzo meal
• 3 tablespoons flax meal
• 4 1/4 to 6 1/4 cups water, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon potato starch
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Flaky sea salt, for serving
• Horseradish, for serving
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. In food processor, pulse chopped carrot, cauliflower, parsnip, potato, and onion until they are the size of peas. Add cashews and pulse until well combined.
3. Transfer vegetables to medium bowl. Add nori, matzoh meal, flax meal, 1/4 cup of the water, pepper, salt, lemon zest, potato starch, and baking powder and mix until combined. Let sit 10 minutes.
4. Using a 1/4-cup measure, form mixture into 10 patties.
5. Heat olive oil in nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Cook patties until golden, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer patties to prepared sheet pan and bake 15 minutes. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
6. Meanwhile, cut remaining carrot into 1/4-inch slices. Combine carrots and enough water to cover by 1 inch in medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower heat to a simmer, and gently cook carrots until tender. Drain and set aside. Top patties with sliced carrots and serve with horseradish.
