YOUR FAVORITE YOM TOV MEALS

Reader’s Holiday Recipes 

The Jewish Echo invited readers to submit their favorite tried and true holiday recipes. From all the submissions, these were the top ones for appetizer, main, and dessert. We hope your families will enjoy them too. 

Mustard Chicken

I love this recipe for the autumn color it gives. It is also creamy, easy, and packed with flavor! If you don’t have Dijon mustard, don’t worry, you can use yellow mustard too, it just won’t be as creamy and bold. 

Devorah Berelson

Ingredients

1⁄4 cup Dijon-style mustard

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium onion, minced

3⁄4 cup dry white wine

8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

shredded lettuce

Directions 

1. In a large baking dish, combine mustard, garlic, onion and wine. 
2.  Add chicken breast halves. 
3. Turn to coat both sides. 
4. Cover and chill overnight.
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and cook for about half an hour. 
6. Arrange meat over a platter of shredded lettuce.

Quinoa and Pomegranate Salad

Pomegranate is synonymous with Rosh Hashanah and this time of year. I try to incorporate this rich fruit into many of my seasonal dishes. In addition to its beautiful crimson color, pomegranates are loaded with antioxidants. 

Chava Hoffman

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed in cold water three times
6 cups water
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup scallion greens, washed and sliced into thin rounds
1/2 bunch flat-leaf parsley, washed and roughly chopped
Seeds from 1 pomegranate (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup toasted sliced or slivered almonds (optional)
1 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. granulated sugar
Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1) Add the salt to the 6 cups of water and bring to a boil in a large pot. 

2) Add the quinoa and cook until tender (about 8 minutes). Using a sieve, drain well. Cool to room temperature and set aside in refrigerator.
3)Mix the parsley, scallion greens, pomegranate seeds, olive oil, red wine vinegar and sugar in a bowl.
4)Add the quinoa, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. To serve, top with the toasted almonds.

Apple Kugel

You can never go wrong with apple kugel this time of year! Served warm or cold, this is a classic winner!

Nechama Spero

Ingredients

Crumbs

6 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 ½ cup of oil

2 eggs

2 tbs. vanilla sugar

Apples

18 apples

1 ½ cups of sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

3 tbs. vanilla sugar

Directions

Bake for 350 degrees for an hour and a half four  9-inch round or 9×13 containers.

Sweet Potato Pie

With so many holiday meals, the easiest and most classic dishes are sometime the best.  This recipe is easy, simple, and sure to please.

Alina Mordechai

Ingredients

6 sweet potatoes, peeled

½ cup flour

½ cup of oil

½ cup sugar

2 eggs

Directions

1. Cube, boil, or mash the potatoes. When they are cool, add the remaining the ingredients.
2. Blend with hand blender.
3. Pour into dish and sprinkle with cinnamon, vanilla, and sugar. 
4. Bake on 350 degrees in conventional oven for one hour and fifteen minutes.
5. Leave to cool in oven.

Fish Balls in Tomato Sauce

These present beautifully on your table. Your guests will think you spent hours on this. The spicy tomato sauce injects a kick of flavor into these fish balls. The best part is you can also dip your challah into the sauce! 

Miriam Adi

Ingredients

1 lb. ground cod or haddock

1⁄2 cup matzo meal

1⁄4 cup finely chopped parsley

1 tsp. ground cumin

1⁄2 tsp. ground coriander

1⁄4 tsp. ground ginger

5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 egg white, lightly beaten

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 tbsp. canola oil

3 tbsp. tomato paste

2 cups fish or vegetable stock

1 cup whole, peeled canned tomatoes with juice, crushed

1 tsp. sugar, plus more to taste

1⁄2 tsp. cayenne

1⁄4 tsp. crushed red chili flakes

1⁄4 tsp. ground allspice

Directions

Stir together fish, matzo meal, 3 tbsp. parsley, cumin, coriander, ginger, 2 cloves garlic, egg white, and salt and pepper in a bowl. Form into thirty-two 1⁄2-oz. balls; chill.

1)Heat oil in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Add remaining garlic; cook until fragrant, about 45 seconds. 

2)Add tomato paste; cook and stir for about three minutes.  Add stock, tomatoes, sugar, cayenne, chili flakes, allspice, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil. 

3)Lower the hear and add  the fish balls cooking them for about 20 minutes. 

4) Garnish with remaining parsley.

ZESTY AND QUICK LEMON BARS

Another classic, this desert is a refreshing way to end a meal, and it presents nicely on a try for guests. 

Yields: 24 bars

Ingredients

1½ cups flour

½ cup powdered sugar

2 tbs.corn starch

Dash of salt

¾ cup butter or margarine

4 eggs, beaten

1½ cups sugar

3 tbs. flour

1 tsp. lemon zest (optional)

¾ cup fresh lemon juice

¼ cup milk or non-dairy milk

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a 13x9x2-inch baking pan with baking paper, making sure to grease the paper.
3. In a bowl, mix together the 1½ cups flour, powdered sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut the butter into the dry mixture until it resembles course crumbs. Press the mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the pan.  Bake for 18-20 minutes until the edges start to get golden brown.
4. While the base is baking, in a bowl combine the eggs, sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, lemon zest, lemon juice, and milk. Mix well so all the sugar is dissolved.
5. When the base is baked, immediately pour the lemon mixture over the base and return to the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the center gets a little golden in color.
6. Cool completely before cutting into bars. Just before serving, dust with powdered sugar.