Salmon and spinach with dill dressing
For the Jewish New Year, which begins on Wednesday at sundown, fish will be on the menu in many households.
According to tradition, having fish on the table is an omen for blessings in the year to come. When the fish is served, observant Jews recite a prayer expressing the wish “that we be fruitful and multiply like fish.”
There is additional symbolism in serving fish. Rosh Hashanah literally means the head of the year, and it is customary to serve fish with their heads on and to recite a blessing based on a verse in Deuteronomy: “May we be heads, not tails” -- in other words, leaders rather than followers. According to Nicholas Stavroulakis, author of “Cookbook of the Jews of Greece,” in some Greek homes the head of the fish was reserved for the head of the household. “The fish,” he wrote, “also symbolizes the Great Leviathan on which Israel is to feast for eternity in Heaven.”
Another tradition is to cook a sheep’s head to stand for the head of the year; this custom is not common among American Jews. Vegetarians might display a head of cabbage or lettuce or serve a roasted onion or a roasted head of garlic.
Today many prepare fish without heads to simplify cooking, serving and eating. Often the fish is served cold or at room temperature as an appetizer.
The fish dishes on the menu tend to be the family’s holiday favorites. On many American tables, gefilte fish is served, topped with coin-shaped slices of carrot, which represent prosperity. Fish cooked with tomatoes or peppers, which are at the height of their season at this time of year, is also popular. Because the Rosh Hashanah main course is generally a meat dish, in kosher kitchens the fish is not cooked with butter or cream, because dairy foods and meat are not allowed at the same meal.
For an Italian style Jewish New Year dinner, fish might be cooked in tomato sauce flavored with garlic and parsley sautéed in olive oil. Greek recipes for the holiday call for baking fish in tomato and white wine sauce with garlic, bay leaves and onions sautéed in olive oil, or in tomato-onion-garlic sauce accented with honey, lemon juice, cinnamon and cloves.
In Moroccan Rosh Hashanah recipes, fish is stewed in a sauce colored yellow with saffron or turmeric and flavored with whole garlic cloves and cilantro; carrot slices or sweet red pepper pieces might be simmered with the fish. Some Moroccan cooks poach fish balls in tomato sauce, made by grinding fish with hard boiled eggs, garlic, cilantro and a spice blend containing nutmeg, mace and cinnamon.
For Rosh Hashanah, when the divine judgment is believed to be written for the coming year, some avoid what they consider “bad luck” foods and therefore modify their fish recipes. Cooks might exclude “black” ingredients such as eggplant, black grapes and black olives from their menus, or might refrain from using sour, bitter and pungent foods such as lemons, vinegar, pickles, horseradish and raw garlic. People who usually eat hot and spicy fish dishes might omit or cut down on the number of chiles they use when making Rosh Hashanah fish appetizers.
The result of cooking without sharp ingredients makes the food delicate and sometimes slightly sweet in flavor, to represent the hope for a “Shanah Tovah u’Metukah,” a good and sweet year.
Faye Levy is the author of “1,000 Jewish Recipes” and of “Faye Levy’s International Jewish Cookbook.”
Place the salmon fillet on a plate. Run your finger over the salmon and pull out any bones with the aid of tweezers or a paring knife.
In a very small bowl or cup, combine 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon wine, the paprika, one-eighth teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper and whisk until the mixture is blended. Stir in 2 teaspoons dill. Spoon the mixture evenly over the salmon. Rub it lightly into the fish and let it stand for 10 to 15 minutes.
Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a roasting pan with foil and lightly oil the foil. Set the salmon, skin side down, in the pan. Roast the salmon, uncovered, until it changes color in its thickest part, about 15 minutes; check with the point of a thin knife. Using a fish spatula or one or two slotted spatulas, transfer the salmon carefully to a plate, leaving its skin attached to the foil if possible. Set aside to cool.
To make the dressing, whisk together the remaining 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons wine, the remaining 6 tablespoons olive oil and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Add the minced shallot, a pinch of freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of cayenne pepper, along with 1 tablespoon dill. Taste a little dressing on a spinach leaf and adjust the seasoning. Add a few drops of lemon juice, and the Dijon mustard, if desired. Taste again and adjust the seasoning.
Assemble the salad: In a large bowl, combine the spinach and the red onion. Add 4 or 5 tablespoons of the dressing, or enough to moisten the mixture, and toss. Set aside 1 teaspoon currants or cranberries. Add the remaining currants or cranberries to the salad and toss. Taste and adjust the seasoning if desired.
Spoon the spinach salad onto a platter or into a shallow serving bowl. Set the salmon on top. Spoon 1 or 2 tablespoons dressing evenly over the salmon. Sprinkle the salmon lightly with most of the chopped dill reserved for garnish. Sprinkle the spinach salad with the reserved currants or cranberries.
Put the diced hard-boiled egg in a small dish, sprinkle it lightly with salt and freshly ground pepper and mix gently.
Garnish the center of the salmon with a row of diced hard-boiled egg, top the egg with a row of chopped walnuts and sprinkle the garnish lightly with the remaining chopped dill. Serve at room temperature, with any remaining dressing in a small bowl.
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