A Low-Cal Holy Day: What Would Grandma Say?

Rosh Hashanah was always a very special occasion at my grandmother’s house. Our whole family gathered there, squeaky-clean, dressed in new outfits and on our very best behavior, ready to start the New Year right. We wanted to be inscribed in the Book of Life!

For her part, Grandma set the table with her finest linens and dishes. She polished her silver. And she spent weeks cooking all her best recipes: a crown-shaped hallah to “head” the new year; spicy, sweet cherry soup; brisket with a delicious ginger-raisin sauce; tzimmes ; potato knishes; and her delicious apple cake for dessert. Every dish was on the sweet side, I think to emphasize her desire that we all have a sweet new year.

It’s my Grandmother’s Rosh Hashanah dinners I aim to recreate when I cook the holiday meal for my family. But times have changed and I’ve learned to cut down on the fat and cholesterol that typified Grandma’s best recipes.

For instance, it is easy to make hallah without eggs. I use egg substitute instead of whole eggs. (It’s important to select a brand that is not high in oil--find one that is almost 100% egg white.) In the dough itself, I use canola oil. And though some people like to add raisins to hallah, I leave them out to keep the calorie count down. Instead, I add a dash of saffron. And instead of making one large loaf, I make individual crown-shaped rolls. These darling hallah rolls are terrific for dipping in the honey at the start of the celebration.

Instead of making brisket with ginger-raisin sauce, I put the same sauce on a breast of turkey, which is low in fat, cholesterol and calories. It’s low in fat, cholesterol and calories. Like Grandma’s brisket, its flavor improves when reheated, so prepare it in advance and pop it in the oven when everyone arrives.

Grandma used to make potato knishes with schmaltz and gribens (rendered chicken fat and delicious bits of cooked chicken skin), definitely forbidden foods for health-conscious eaters. I get a similar flavor by “frying” onions in nonfat chicken broth. If you don’t have the time to prepare your own nonfat chicken broth, use canned. Just refrigerate it overnight. Then remove the hardened fat that rises to the surface.

You can serve the knishes in many ways. Push them through a pastry bag for the prettiest effect. Or bake them in muffin cups for individual servings. You can even bake them like a kugel, spread out in a pan.

Tzimmes, a wonderful mixture of carrots, sweet potatoes and dried fruits, is essential to any Rosh Hashanah celebration. Grandma cooked hers with the brisket, almost like a stew, so her tzimmes came glazed with the fat of the meat. You can cut the fat and calories by making yours with carrots and dried apricots glazed in a sauce of nonfat chicken broth, sugar, orange juice and cinnamon. The carrot rounds look like coins, so I call them Rosh Hashanah gelt (money), another symbol for a sweet and prosperous year.

Finally, dessert. Grandma’s apple cake embodies the essence of Rosh Hashanah: apples and honey. It underlines all our hopes for a sweet new year. I remember Grandma whipping it up in her big crockery bowl with the blue band around the top. I make her exact recipe--except for the eggs, which I replace with egg substitute. If you make this cake, don’t stint on the apples. You may think that all nine of them will never fit in the pan. But they will. Getting them all in is what makes this cake so moist and wonderful.

The cake is high in fat, but the rest of the meal is relatively fat-free, so you can enjoy this wonderful old-fashioned dessert without a guilty conscience, perfect for starting a new year. It tastes great whenever you eat it--warm from the oven, at room temperature, or the next day. It freezes well, so if you are lucky enough to have any left over, you can save that for another special occasion.

Luckily, most of the recipes benefit from being prepared in advance. That agrees with modern life as much as the lower fat and cholesterol adaptations do.

If you try the suggested menu, you will serve a meal that contains about 720 calories, but fat occupies only 14% of the total, less than half the 30% recommendation of the American Heart Assn. This will truly start your new year right. L’shanah tovah tikotaivu! May you be inscribed for a sweet New Year!

NO-CHOLESTEROL “YOLKLESS” HALLAH ROLLS

1 package dry yeast

1 1/4 cups very warm water (about 110 degrees)

Honey

Dash crushed saffron, optional

5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup egg substitute, equivalent to 2 eggs

3 tablespoons canola oil

Sesame seeds

1 egg white

Combine yeast with warm water in small glass bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon honey. Stir well and let stand about 5 minutes, or until yeast is bubbling. Stir in saffron.

Combine 3 cups flour and salt in large ceramic mixing bowl. Make well in center and add yeast mixture. Mix thoroughly, scraping sides of bowl when necessary.

Add 3 tablespoons honey, 1/2 cup flour, egg substitute and canola oil. Continue stirring. Work in another 1/2 cup flour. Mix until well combined. Dough should be sticky.

Rub 1/2 cup flour into pastry cloth. Remove dough from bowl and place on floured cloth. To aid kneading when dough is sticky, lift edges of pastry cloth and knead through cloth. (Less flour is used and rolls will be light with wonderful texture.) Knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

Place dough in greased bowl. Cover with clean, damp towel and let rise in warm place, free from draft, until dough is doubled in volume, about 1 1/2 hours.

Spray 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with non-stick vegetable spray.

Punch down dough and turn out onto pastry cloth. Divide into 2 equal parts. Put 1/2 back into bowl and cover while working with other half.

Sprinkle pastry cloth with 1/4 cup flour. Divide first piece of dough into 12 pieces. Divide 1 piece into 3 small pieces. Roll each of these into 8-inch-long ropes. Press top ends together and braid 3. Form roll by placing braid into muffin cup, starting at outside edge. Coil braid in circle, working toward center. Tuck ends inside center.

Repeat with remaining 11 pieces. Cover formed rolls with damp towel. Shape remaining 1/2 dough, using last 1/4 cup flour on pastry cloth. Let rolls rise until doubled, less than 1 hour.

Beat egg white with little water. Brush small amount onto each roll, taking care not to get near edge of pan (or roll will stick to pan). Sprinkle with few sesame seeds. Bake at 400 degrees 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks. Remove from pans when still slightly warm. Makes 24 rolls.

TURKEY BREAST WITH GINGER-RAISIN SAUCE

1 (3-pound) turkey breast with bone

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground white pepper

Garlic powder

Nonfat chicken broth

1 onion, sliced thin

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1 cup golden raisins

1 tablespoon catsup

3 bay leaves

3 whole cloves

4 gingersnaps, broken into pieces

Sprinkle turkey breast with salt and white pepper and garlic powder to taste. Spray roasting pan or Dutch oven large enough to hold turkey breast with non-stick vegetable spray. Add few tablespoons nonfat chicken broth and heat. Add turkey and onion. Brown onion, adding more broth as necessary, so turkey does not stick to pan.

When turkey is brown on all sides and onion is tender and is turning golden brown, add vinegar, raisins, catsup, bay leaves and cloves. Cover and simmer 2 hours, or bake at 325 degrees 1 hour. Turn breast so both sides can cook in sauce. Add more water or chicken broth as necessary to keep sauce from burning. Continue baking 1 hour longer or until turkey is tender.

Combine gingersnaps and 1/2 cup water in small bowl. Mix well. Stir into pan and cook 1/2 hour longer. Cool. Slice and refrigerate.

To serve, reheat sliced turkey, covered, until sauce is hot and bubbly, about 20 minutes. Makes 8 servings.

LOW-FAT POTATO KNISHES

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces

Salt

Nonfat chicken broth

1 onion, chopped

Pepper

Paprika

Place potato pieces in medium saucepan. Cover with cold water. Add 1 teaspoon salt. Cover and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

Spray medium non-stick skillet with non-stick vegetable spray. Add 1/2 cup nonfat chicken broth and heat until hot. Add onion and cook until broth evaporates and onion is browned. Add more broth if broth cooks away and onion is not yet brown.

Drain potatoes from cooking liquid. Reserve some of liquid. Mash potatoes with potato masher or hand mixer. Add browned onion. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If potatoes seem too thick, add some cooking liquid or more nonfat chicken broth. Continue mixing until potatoes have smooth consistency.

Spray large baking sheet with non-stick vegetable spray. Fill pastry bag fitted with 1/2-inch star tube with potato mixture. Squeeze bag onto sheet to form flowerets. Sprinkle with little paprika, if desired. Bake at 400 degrees until lightly browned, about 20 minutes.

To make muffins, spray 8 cups of 12-cup muffin pan with non-stick vegetable spray. Fill prepared cups with potato mixture. Season to taste with paprika, if desired. Bake at 400 degrees 20 minutes. Potatoes will puff up slightly. Cool in pan before trying to remove.

To make kugel, spray 9-inch-square pan with non-stick vegetable spray. Fill pan with potato mixture. Season to taste with paprika. Bake at 400 degrees 20 minutes. Cut into squares.

Makes 8 servings.

ROSH HASHANAH GELT

2 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced

3 tablespoons nonfat chicken broth

2 tablespoons orange juice

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

10 dried apricots, slivered

Place carrots in saucepan. Cover with water and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water.

Heat nonfat chicken broth in non-stick skillet. Add carrots and orange juice. Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over carrots. Cook until carrots are glazed and sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in apricot slivers. Cook additional few minutes. Serve at once. Makes 8 servings.

EGGLESS HONEY-APPLE CAKE

9 large baking apples, peeled and sliced thinly

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 cup egg substitute, equal to 4 eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup canola oil

1 cup water

2/3 cup honey

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups flour

Place apples in large bowl. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

Combine egg substitute, baking powder and oil in another bowl. Stir in water, honey, salt and vanilla. Add flour, 1 cup at time. Mix well.

Spray 13x9-inch glass baking pan with non-stick vegetable spray.

Spread 1/2 dough into prepared pan. Carefully layer apples over dough. Pour in any juice that has collected at bottom of bowl that contained apple slices. Cover with remaining dough. Bake at 375 degrees 1 hour or until top is golden brown.

Serve warm or at room temperature. If desired, freeze, tightly wrapped, to store. Makes 32 pieces.