A truly sweet harvest

It seems like Rosh Hashanah customs were created by lovers of fruits and vegetables. Most families will begin Sunday night’s holiday dinner with apple wedges dipped in honey to symbolize the hope for a sweet new year, and many serve sweet vegetables, especially carrots and sweet potatoes.

We like the Sephardi custom of starting the meal with a mini-Seder, a ritual derived from the Talmud. Guests sample small portions of certain vegetables and fruits, such as pumpkin, leeks, chard, black-eyed peas, pomegranate seeds and dates, and say a blessing with each one. The choices vary depending on what’s available at the market -- pumpkin might be replaced by other squashes, black-eyed peas by other beans, and chard by beet leaves or spinach.

And the blessings vary depending on the community and individual home. Some blessings have roots in Talmudic symbolism. Pomegranate seeds are served because they stand for the wish that one’s mitzvot, or good deeds, be as numerous as the fruit’s seeds, which are said to be 613, the same as the number of commandments in the Torah.

Other blessings are actually puns on the Hebrew or Aramaic names of the foods. The word for black-eyed peas, for example, sounds like the word for increase, and therefore the blessing is “may our merits increase.”

To make the blessings more meaningful, some create puns based on the language spoken in their home. Suggestions for English speakers include eating peas as a hope for peace. Some of these have quite different meanings than in other languages. When eating dates, the traditional saying “may our enemies be destroyed,” based on the Hebrew word for date, could be replaced by wishing single friends “happy dating.”

Because of the emphasis on sweetness for Rosh Hashanah, some avoid lemon juice and other sour ingredients and sharp foods like chiles. There are those who don’t even eat nuts because the Hebrew words for “nut” and for “sin” have the same numerological value.

One of our favorite Jewish New Year customs, observed on the second day of the holiday, calls for eating an exotic fruit or one that has just come into season and reciting a blessing that expresses gratitude for having lived to this joyous day. We enjoy sampling several fruits, such as fresh yellow dates that have turned honey-brown, Asian pears, Keitt mangoes, dragonfruit, lychees or even durian. But the fruits over which we recite this blessing most enthusiastically are fresh figs, preferably from our garden.

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food@latimes.com

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Black-eyed peas with leeks and chard

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Total time: 21/2 hours

Servings: 6 as appetizer or side dish

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Note: Since fresh black-eyed peas are time-consuming to shell, I serve a small amount separately to be added to each portion. Slim black-eyed peas don’t need to be shelled. They can be cooked like string beans: You remove the strings and cook them. Instead of cooking dried black-eyed peas, you can substitute 21/2 cups of frozen ones, cooked according to the package instructions, or pre-cooked black-eyed peas.

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1 cup dried black-eyed peas (about 6 ounces), sorted and rinsed

3 quarts water, divided, more if needed

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 bunch chard (9 to 12 ounces), rinsed well

2 large leeks (1 1/2 to 2 pounds)

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided, more if needed

3/4 to 1 1/2 cups shelled fresh black-eyed peas, if desired (from 1/2 to 1 pound whole)

4 large cloves garlic, chopped (5 1/2 teaspoons)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

Cayenne pepper to taste, if desired

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1. In a medium saucepan, bring the dried black-eyed peas and 1 quart water to a boil over high heat. Cover and cook over low heat for 45 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and simmer until peas are tender, 20 to 40 minutes more; if the peas look a little dry, add additional water as needed to cover while cooking. Remove from heat and set the peas, still in their cooking liquid, aside.

2. Meanwhile, clean and chop the chard: Pull the chard leaves from the stems and keep each in a separate pile. Peel the stems if they are stringy. Cut the stems in one-half-inch slices. Roll the leaves up, slice them in ribbons and coarsely chop them.

3. In a deep, medium saute pan, bring 1 quart water to a boil and add a pinch of salt. Add the chard stems and return to a boil. Cover and cook over high heat for 2 minutes. Add the chard leaves, stir and return to a boil. Boil uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the chard is tender, about 3 minutes. Drain the chard, rinse it with cold water and drain it well. Dry the pan.

4. Cut off the dark green tops of the leeks (discard them or use them to flavor the broth in the recipe for couscous with seven blessed vegetables). Cut the white to medium-green parts of the leeks in half lengthwise, leaving them attached near the base, and rinse them thoroughly, spreading the layers to clean off any sand between them. Cut the leeks crosswise into thin slices, about one-fourth-inch thick. (You will have about 6 cups.) Submerge the sliced leeks in a bowl of water and rub to separate the pieces. Let them stand about 2 minutes, and then lift them out of the water and drain them in a colander. If the water is sandy, soak them and drain them again.

5. In the same saute pan, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium-low heat. Add the sliced leeks and one-eighth teaspon each of salt and pepper. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are very tender, about 15 minutes. If there is liquid in the pan, cook the leeks uncovered over medium heat until it evaporates, about 3 more minutes. Remove from heat and transfer the leeks to a bowl.

6. If using fresh black-eyed peas to garnish, shell the pods that have bulges, indicating there are developed peas inside. Break the slim pods in 1-inch pieces, removing any strings. Add the green pod pieces and the shelled black-eyed peas to a saucepan with enough boiling salted water to cover them, about 1 quart. Return to a boil, cover and cook the black-eyed peas over medium-low heat until they are done to your taste; their cooking time can vary from 7 to 20 minutes. Drain them and spoon them into a small serving bowl. Drizzle them with 1 to 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle them with salt and pepper to taste.

7. Drain the cooked dried black-eyed peas, reserving their liquid.

8. Heat the saute pan over medium-low heat until hot. Add 2 tablespoons oil and the garlic and stir until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Add the cumin and paprika, stir briefly and add the chard and leeks. Heat, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the cooked dried black-eyed peas and 2 tablespoons of their liquid and heat through, about 3 minutes, adding additional reserved liquid as desired to moisten the dish. Taste and season the dish with 1 teaspoon salt, one-fourth teaspoon pepper and one-eighth teaspoon cayenne pepper, or as desired. Drizzle with 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil.

9. Serve hot, at room temperature or cold. Serve the fresh black-eyed peas in a separate bowl, for topping each portion.

Each serving, without fresh pea garnish: 262 calories; 8 grams protein; 28 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams fiber; 14 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 5 grams sugar; 550 mg sodium.

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Couscous with seven blessed vegetables

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Total time: 3 hours, 45 minutes (plus 21/2 hours cooking time for the dried chickpeas if using)

Servings: 6

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Note: This recipe includes vegetables baked with sugar and cinnamon. They can be served as an appetizer for the Rosh Hashanah blessing ritual or can accompany the couscous. It is best to cook the chicken a day or two ahead and to refrigerate it, so that skimming the fat from the broth is easier. If you don’t have kabocha squash, substitute butternut or other orange-fleshed squash.

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2/3 cup dried chickpeas (4 1/2 ounces), sorted and rinsed, or 1 (15-ounce) can

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 large leek (about 3/4 to 1 pound)

4 small whole chicken legs (drumsticks attached to thighs, sometimes labeled chicken leg quarters) (about 4 pounds)

1 onion, quartered

1 stalk celery, if desired, cut crosswise into thirds

6 to 8 sprigs plus 1/3 cup chopped cilantro, divided

6 to 8 sprigs Italian parsley plus 1/3 cup chopped parsley, divided

1/4 teaspoon saffron threads

2 small plum tomatoes (about 5 or 6 ounces), peeled and chopped (about 2/3 cup chopped)

3/4- to 1-pound piece kabocha squash, scrubbed, seeded and peeled, cut in two

6 carrots (about 3/4 pound), cut on the bias into 3/4- to 1-inch pieces

2 small turnips (about 3/4 pound), peeled and cut into 8 pieces

3 Mexican squash (also called white squash or Mexican zucchini) (about 3/4 pound), halved lengthwise and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces

Olive oil, for drizzling

1 teaspoon sugar

Ground cinnamon, for garnish

Paprika, if desired, for garnish

Cayenne pepper, if desired

Steamed or quick couscous, online

Dried fruit and almond garnish, online

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1. If using dried chickpeas, put them in a small saucepan and add 3 cups water. Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat. Simmer over low heat for 1 hour, adding additional hot water if necessary to keep them covered. Add a pinch of salt and simmer until tender, about one to 1 1/2 hours more. Remove from heat and set the chickpeas aside, still in their liquid. If using canned chickpeas, drain and rinse the chickpeas, cover and set aside.

2. Cut off the dark green tops of the leek and rinse them thoroughly. Put the leek greens in a couscous or soup pot or a large stew pan. Set aside the rest of the leek to use later.

3. Add the chicken to the leek greens in the pot. Add the quartered onion, celery ribs and enough water to cover the ingredients, about 8 to 10 cups. Bring to a boil over high heat, skimming any foam that forms on the surface. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for an additional 10 minutes, skimming any foam. Add the sprigs of cilantro and parsley, the saffron and a pinch each of salt and pepper.

4. Cover and simmer over low heat until the chicken is just tender and the meat near the bone is no longer pink, about 45 minutes; when the chicken is pierced in its thickest part with the point of a knife, any juices that come out should be clear, not pink. Discard the soup vegetables and herb sprigs. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and cool the chicken and broth separately. (The recipe can be prepared up to this point a day or two in advance; cover and refrigerate the broth, chicken and chickpeas until needed.)

5. Skim any fat from the surface of the broth, then bring the broth back to a boil over high heat. Add the tomatoes, kabocha squash, carrots and turnips to the broth. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes.

6. While the broth is simmering, cut the white and light green part of the leek in half lengthwise and rinse it thoroughly, checking to make sure there is no sand between the layers. Cut the leek crosswise into 1 1/2- to 2-inch pieces and check again for sand.

7. Add the leek to the broth. Add the cooked chickpeas, along with their liquid if desired, or the drained canned chickpeas. Return broth to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, then add the Mexican squash and return to a simmer. Cover and cook until the vegetables are tender but not falling apart, about 7 minutes.

8. Remove 4 cups of the vegetables with a slotted spoon. Remove the kabocha squash pieces and cut them into bite-sized cubes. Add them to the other vegetables.

9. To reheat the chicken, add the pieces to the hot broth and simmer them gently until heated through, 10 to 15 minutes.

10. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the removed 4 cups cooked vegetables in a shallow 2-quart baking dish, drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with the sugar. Bake the vegetables until they brown lightly, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle them lightly with cinnamon. Serve them as an appetizer or as an accompaniment for the couscous.

11. If you would like to brown the chicken, remove the hot chicken pieces from the broth, draining them well. Put them in a roasting pan. Drizzle them with 2 to 3 teaspoons olive oil, rub the oil over the chicken and sprinkle lightly with salt and paprika. Bake the chicken, uncovered at 400 degrees, until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. If you like, separate the drumsticks from the thighs. Transfer the browned chicken to a platter; cover and keep warm. If not browning the chicken, serve the reheated pieces on a platter, or remove the skin and bones and serve the cut-up meat in the broth.

12. Heat the broth with the vegetables until very hot. Drain the vegetables if you want to serve them on the side, or leave them in the broth. Add the chopped cilantro and parsley. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding cayenne if desired.

13. To serve the couscous, mound it in a cone shape on a large platter, garnished with the dried fruit and almond mixture as well as some of the vegetables. Serve the remaining dried fruit and almonds, vegetables and chicken in bowls or platters on the side.

14. Serve the couscous in shallow bowls. Serve the broth from a tureen, for moistening the couscous to each person’s taste. Top each portion with chicken, vegetables and fruit and almond garnish.

Each serving, without couscous: 635 calories; 43 grams protein; 33 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams fiber; 37 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 205 mg cholesterol; 12 grams sugar; 365 mg sodium.

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Apple date honey cake

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Total time: 1 hour, 45 minutes, plus cooling time for the cake

Servings: 9 to 12

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Note: This cake contains no dairy products and thus is suitable for a kosher meal that includes meat. If you’re serving the cake on another occasion, you can serve it with sour cream instead of making the sauce.

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2 1/4 cups (9 1/2 ounces) flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

3/4 cup mild olive oil or vegetable oil, divided

1 cup dates, such as Deglet Noor (about 5 1/2 ounces), pitted, quartered lengthwise and diced small (1/4-inch dice)

3/4 cup walnuts (about 2 1/2 ounces), chopped

2 sweet-tart apples such as Braeburn (about 14 ounces)

3 eggs

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup light brown sugar

3/4 cup honey

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

Sweet sesame sauce, for serving, online

Sauteed apples, for serving, online

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1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch square pan, line it with parchment paper or waxed paper and grease the paper.

2. Sift the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and cloves into a medium bowl.

3. In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of the oil with the diced dates and rub gently to separate them. Add the chopped walnuts and toss lightly with a fork to keep dates in separate pieces.

4. Peel and core the apples and slice them about one-eighth-inch thick. Cut the slices into one-fourth to one-third-inch pieces.

5. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the eggs lightly. Add the white and brown sugars and beat until smooth. Beat in the honey. Beat at high speed until the mixture is smooth and lightened in color, about 3 minutes. Gradually beat in the remaining oil at low speed until blended.

6. With a wooden spoon, stir in the flour mixture alternately with applesauce, each in two batches. Add the lemon zest and mix it in thoroughly. Stir in the apple pieces and the date and walnut mixture, mixing them in thoroughly.

7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 35 to 50 minutes.

8. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes. Turn it out onto a rack and carefully peel off the paper and set aside to cool completely. Tightly cover the cooled cake until needed.

9. Serve the cake at room temperature as squares or bars. If serving it with sauce and garnish, spoon 2 teaspoons sauce on the plate alongside each piece of cake and add 2 apple wedges. Serve any remaining sauce separately.

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Each of 12 servings, without sauce or sauteed apples: 429 calories; 5 grams protein; 64 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams fiber; 19 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 47 mg cholesterol; 43 grams sugar; 182 mg sodium.