Rosh Hashanah October 2024

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is celebrated with thanksgiving, prayer, synagogue services, and family meals. Unlike New Years Eve and Day in the secular calendar, this is a 2 day religious holiday. You may like the recipes I'm sharing.

Leek, Chickpea, and Spinach Noodle Soup

Noodle soup is one of my favorites, and I love it in this healthy combination with leeks, carrots, spinach and chickpeas.

Broccoli Leek Soup -Vegan

If you are yearning for a satisfying soup, you won't be disappointed with this creamy broccoli leek soup with hints of fresh ginger. 

Regular readers of my blog know I love healthy soups that are easy to prepare and quick to cook. 

With mainly leeks, broccoli, and potato, this vegan soup is creamy, light, and delicious. 

I seasoned it with fresh ginger, ground turmeric, and Trader Joe's Vegan Chicken-less seasoning salt. 

                                                      

It was my first time trying this Trader Joe's seasoning, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I ordinarily would have used vegetable broth, but I ran out. I knew that substituting plain water instead of broth would yield a weak tasting soup. 

It was too late to make my own vegetable broth or run to the store to buy some vegetable broth, so I started searching for what else I had in the cabinet. When I saw the vegan chicken-less seasoning salt, I thought it might do the job and it did! It saved the day and my soup! 

If you prefer not to use salt, use miso. 

I used a tablespoon of seasoning and 5.5 cups of water instead of 6 cups of vegetable broth. 

Vegan Chicken-Less Seasoning salt is labeled vegan and kosher. It contains sea salt, onion powder, turmeric and garlic powder. I guess I could have made my own seasoning mix, but I had no idea that this combination would work so well and taste like broth in soup. It's a good addition to add to the spice cabinet. 

Let's look at the healthy benefits in this delicious green soup! 

Broccoli is a cruciferous vegetable which contains antioxidants and compounds that may protect against cancer. Low in fat, carbs, and calories, but high in nutrients. It's also alkalizing.

Leeks are high in Vitamin A and contains an antioxidant that protects from free radicals that do damage in the body. Also contains zeaaxanthin and lutein which are excellent for the eyes. Leeks contain significant amounts of iron and B-vitamins and are anti-inflammatory. 

Potatoes get a bad rap but they are anti-inflammatory and contain L-tryptophan which helps relax the body. There is a book called Potatoes Not Prozac that explains how eating a potatoes could relax you. 

Ginger has been appreciated for its culinary and medicinal properties  for hundreds of years. It contains gingerol which is anti-inflammatory and high in antioxidants. It is often used to help digestion, nausea, and upset stomaches. Some studies indicate that it may help lower LDL (bad cholesterol).

Turmeric is a bright orange spice that is extremely anti-inflammatory and contains powerful compounds that might help fight disease. It also may help the liver detoxify to work more efficiently. Some studies indicate it may help protect memory. 

Author of the blog: Judee Algazi

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time Instant Pot: 18 minutes + 5 minutes warm up time

Cook Time Stove Top: 22-25 minutes

Serves: 6 cups or 3 bowls

Ingredients: 

Olive oil to very lightly coat the soup pt to sauté or use water for an oil-free version.

3 leeks, cleaned and sliced (use the white and softer green part)

1 head of broccoli florets

1 large russet potato, cleaned and chopped

1 teaspoon of turmeric 

3 slices of fresh ginger 

1 heaping tablespoon of Trader Joe's Vegan Chicken-less Seasoning Salt or 1 tablespoon of miso 

Cracked pepper to taste

6 cups of water (divided)

 

Instant Pot Directions: 

Add a small amount of oil or oil spray and leeks to the bottom of the Instant Pot insert liner. Press sauté and sautee the leek slices, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Add broccoli florets and potato and continue to sauté for anther 5 minutes adding 1/2 cup of water if needed. Add turmeric, ginger, cracked black pepper, Trader Joe's seasoning and remaining water. Cancel the sauté function, secure lid, close steam valve, and set to pressure cook for 8 minutes. When done, release steam according to manufacturers directions. When all steam is released, use an immersion blender to blend soup until creamy. 

Stove Top Directions:

Add a small amount of oil or oil spray and leeks to the bottom of a soup pot. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add broccoli florets and potato and continue to sauté for 5 more minutes, stirring to prevent burning. Add 1/2 cup of water if needed. Add turmeric, ginger, cracked pepper, Trader Joe's seasoning and remaining water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a low heat. Cook covered until all vegetables are soft (about 10 minutes). Turn off heat and with an immersion blender, blend until creamy.

Shared on Souper Sunday at Deb's Kahakai Kitchen 

Got Leeks? Make Sephardic Leek Patties

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Got leeks and don't know what to do with them? 

Make these fabulous Sephardic leek patties. 

If you are a reader of my blog, you may have remember that my husband is from the Middle East, and that some of their Jewish holiday customs differ from those of Jews from Eastern European descent like me.

Middle Eastern Jews ( Mizrahi/Sephardic Jews) make a small "Seder" plate for the Rosh Hashanah ( the Jewish New Year ) dinner and use a variety of foods that take on a symbolic meaning to wish in a good new year!

Leek patties are one of those symbolic foods! They are simple to make and everyone looks forward to eating them.

It is an easy gluten free vegetarian recipe that requires chopping up leeks. These chopped leeks symbolically represent  chopping up our bad habits so we can make positive changes in our lifestyle. (Ok, the original meaning was that our enemies should be chopped up and far away from us - but we have evolved.)

There are as many variations for Sephardic Leek Patties are there are cooks. Some recipes include a potato, chopped meat, other spices, etc.; this recipe is very very simple, vegetarian, and gluten free- but still delicious and perfect for the blessing!

After the holiday, we may still make these patties if we have leeks. I mean how much potato leek soup do you want to eat? This is a nice recipe for leek lovers or for when your CSA has lots of leeks!

Judee Algazi
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Makes: 12 patties

Ingredients:

6 medium stalks of leeks, cleaned and chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup of ground gluten free oatmeal (or gluten free breadcrumbs)
Himalayan or sea salt and cracked pepper to taste

Directions: 
Sautee the chopped onion and leeks in a large skillet until soft and set aside
( I spray with olive oil spray and then add 2 Tablespoons of olive oil)
In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs add the sauteed vegetables and mix well. Add the seasoning and GF oatmeal or GF breadcrumbs. Mix well.
Using an ice cream scoop to keep the size uniform, add 4 scoops to a greased teflon type skillet and sautee until browned on my sides. Remove from skillet and repeat until done. Should make about 13 patties.

leeks and onions sauteeing

I used certified gluten free oats from Trader Joes and then put the oats in the high speed blender to create my flour