A Rosh Hashana Menu Fit for the Sabbath

This year Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, begins at sundown Friday. Because observant Jews do not cook on the Sabbath, I have put together a menu of recipes that can be prepared in advance and served Friday evening or Saturday.

Even better, two of the recipes combine apples and honey--the traditional foods served during the holiday to symbolize a sweet year.

Take the Apple Spinach Salad, for example. Not only does it contain the traditional combination, but the apple mixture can also be prepared the day before, refrigerated and tossed with the spinach just before serving.

When I was a teenager, my mother served roast chicken every Friday night, but this chicken recipe is very different. The breasts are poached with leeks, carrots and fennel, adding a rich flavor to the dish and making the chicken tender. The next day, the chicken can be cut up and used in a salad and the vegetables will make a delicious side dish.

The Apple-Honey Linzer Tart was inspired by Signora Grazia, a wonderful cook who lives in Poppi, a small village near Arezzo, Italy. She gave a cooking class as part of an Italian language school that I took last summer.

One of the dishes she prepared was a Linzer Tart. Don’t be hesitant about rolling out pastry. Signora Grazia’s recipe is easy; you just press the dough into the tart pan. In fact, I have replaced my favorite pastry recipe with hers. Instead of the blackberry preserves that she used, I am substituting homemade apple-honey marmalade.

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Zeidler is author of “The Gourmet Jewish Cook” and “30-Minute Kosher Cook,” both published by William Morrow. Her Web site is https://member.aol.com/jzkitchen.

Apple Spinach Salad

Active Work and Total Preparation Time: 25 minutes plus 1 hour chilling

1/4 cup sesame seeds

3 apples, peeled, cored and diced

3 green onions, thinly sliced

3 stalks celery, diced

Juice of 2 lemons

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup tahineh (sesame seed paste)

2 tablespoons honey

1 bunch spinach, torn into bite-size pieces

* Toast seeds in dry skillet over medium heat, shaking pan constantly until seeds are golden, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

* In large bowl, toss apples, onions and celery with juice of 1 lemon to keep apples from darkening. Set aside.

* Blend together mayonnaise, tahineh, honey and remaining lemon juice; the mixture will be very thick. Toss with apple mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour.

* Just before serving, place spinach in large bowl, add apple mixture and toss to coat spinach thoroughly. Garnish with sesame seeds.

6 servings. Each serving: 202 calories; 127 mg sodium; 3 mg cholesterol; 11 grams fat; 25 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams protein; 1.53 grams fiber.

Chicken Breasts With Zucchini-Barley Timbales

Active Work Time: 1 hour * Total Preparation Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

CHICKEN

3 tablespoons olive oil

6 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

2 small leeks, white parts only, thinly sliced

1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup chicken or vegetable broth

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt, pepper

* Heat oil in large pot over medium heat and saute carrots, leeks and fennel until tender, about 5 minutes. Add wine and stock, bring to a boil and simmer 3 minutes. Stir in parsley and mustard, cover and cook until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Place chicken breasts over vegetables, add salt and pepper to taste, cover and simmer over low heat until chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes.

Remove chicken breasts, wrap tightly and chill, reserving broth and cooked vegetables for timables.

ZUCCHINI-BARLEY TIMBALES

Salt

1 cup barley

1 cup thinly sliced vegetables from poaching liquid, diced

1/2 cup broth from poaching liquid

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 zucchini, thinly sliced in rounds

* Line 6 (1/2-cup) ramekins or custard cups with plastic wrap, overlapping about 2 inches. Set aside.

* Bring 2 quarts lightly salted water to boil in large heavy pot. Stir in barley and simmer until tender, 30 minutes; drain well, transfer to medium bowl. Add diced vegetables, broth and salt to taste and mix well.

* Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat and saute zucchini until soft, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a platter in a single layer. Arrange in an overlapping pattern on bottom and sides of prepared custard cups. Spoon in barley mixture and cover with overlapping plastic wrap. (There may be some barley left over, which can be eaten at room temperature as a salad.)

* To serve, open plastic wrap from custard cup and invert onto lower half of serving plate. Remove plastic wrap and repeat with remaining custard cups.

* Slice chicken breasts and arrange on serving plates and spoon poaching liquid over chicken breasts.

6 servings. Each serving: 561 calories; 519 mg sodium; 99 mg cholesterol; 13 grams fat; 40 grams carbohydrates; 47 grams protein; 9.06 gram fiber.

Apple-Honey Linzer Tart

Active Work Time: 40 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 2 hours 15 minutes plus 2 hours chilling

If you’re using a tart pan without a removable bottom, line it with parchment paper.

FILLING

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons honey

1/4 cup orange marmalade

1/2 cup apple juice

5 large Golden Delicious apples

Juice of 1 lemon

* Combine sugar, honey, marmalade and apple juice in large heavy pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring until sugar and marmalade have dissolved. Bring to boil and simmer over low heat just until it begins to thicken, 2 minutes.

* Peel apples and place in bowl with lemon juice to prevent them from discoloring. Core each apple, slice and cut slices in half. Add apples to syrup in pot and toss to coat. Simmer, covered, 15 minutes; mix well. Uncover and simmer on low heat until apples are very soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir to prevent sticking. Transfer to a glass bowl and cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator 2 hours.

TART

2 1/2 cups flour, plus more for rolling

3/4 cup sugar

1 3/4 sticks (7 ounces) unsalted nondairy margarine, cut in pieces

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons cold water

Glazed Apple-Honey Marmalade

* Combine flour and sugar in bowl of electric mixer. Add margarine and, starting at low speed, stir until pieces of flour-covered margarine are cut into tiny particles. Stop machine to check consistency. Add egg yolks and blend until particles are moistened, add water and blend until dough comes together. Don’t over-mix or dough will be tough. Wrap in waxed paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate 5 minutes.

* Remove one-fourth of dough and refrigerate. Flatten remaining dough into thin round disk and press into 11-inch tart pan with removable bottom.

* On a floured board, roll out remaining one-fourth dough into 12-inch square. Using a fluted pastry cutter or knife, cut into 16 to 18 (1/2-inch) strips. Chill 10 minutes.

* Spread Filling evenly in pastry-lined tart pan. Arrange 1/2 of dough strips across top of filling, spacing as evenly as possible. Arrange remaining strips in opposite direction, across first strips of dough, making a lattice pattern. Cut off strips even with edge of pan and press each strip with bottom pastry and pinch to seal.

* Place tart on baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees until golden brown, 1 hour. Remove from oven and set on rack to cool. Remove from tart pan by carefully loosing bottom from sides of pan.

12 servings. Each serving: 347 calories; 3 mg sodium; 46 mg cholesterol; 13 grams fat; 55 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 0.42 gram fiber.