The Charlotte Jewish News- September 2026- Page 36
The Recipe File: A Rosh Hashanah Table Made for Gathering
By Elizabeth Johnson
There is something about the High Holidays that can make even an enthusiastic home cook suddenly feel as though dinner has become an undertaking. The brisket. The challah. The apples and honey. The sides. The table. The expectation that a meal marking the beginning of a new year should somehow rise to the significance of the occasion. Before the first guest arrives, it is remarkably easy for celebration to give way to exhaustion. But perhaps the most important thing we bring to a Rosh Hashanah table isn’ t something we cook at all. It is ourselves.
I was reminded of that this spring when cookbook author Adeena Sussman came to Charlotte as the featured speaker at Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte’ s Lions of Judah and Pomegranate Society Luncheon. During her remarks, Sussman spoke about food, gathering and the Jewish table, themes at the heart of her cookbook“ Shabbat: Recipes and Rituals From My Table to Yours.”
One story in particular stayed with me. Sussman grew up in a California home where the door was rarely closed and there was always room for another person at the table. When guests asked her mother what they could bring, her answer was wonderfully simple:“ Good conversation.” And this very idea is worth carrying into the High Holidays.
A beautiful Rosh Hashanah dinner needn’ t require its host to spend the evening darting
between the kitchen and dining room. The food can be special without being complicated. And some of the best dishes are those that allow you to do much of the work before anyone walks through the door.
I had been following Sussman for years. I use her latke recipe every December without thinking twice( never forget adding carrots to your hot oil.) Her chicken dilly soup is in both the fridge and my freezer. But it was not until I sat at a table built from her food that it fully clicked.
A close friend invited us for Shabbat dinner, and everything we ate was influenced by Sussman. Children moved excitedly through the room, plates were passed around the table and the food was phenomenal, yet nothing about the evening felt overly orchestrated. Not long afterward, I pulled out my own copy and prepared three dishes that struck me as particularly well suited to a Rosh Hashanah table.
There were chicken thighs, crisped in olive oil and roasted with figs and grapes. The fruit softens and concentrates as it cooks, bringing the sweetness we associate with the Jewish New Year into the main course without making the dish feel cloying. Alongside them, I served roasted green beans and multicolored peppers finished with a smoky, nutty, wonderfully crisp panko topping. And then came the dish that has since earned a permanent place in my kitchen: roasted sweet potatoes slathered with miso tahini butter and finished with scallions, sumac and flaky salt.
On paper, it sounds like a considerable spread. In practice, that is precisely its appeal. Nothing requires constant attention. The oven does much of the work. The dishes feel abundant and celebratory, but they don’ t demand that the person who prepared them disappear into the kitchen just as everyone else begins enjoying the evening.
That matters on Rosh Hashanah. Our holiday tables carry traditions particular to our own families, but they also share a larger purpose. We gather. We tell stories. We reconnect with people we may not see often enough. We dip apples into honey and wish one another sweetness in the year ahead. The meal isn’ t the reason for gathering; it helps make the gathering possible.
So, this Rosh Hashanah, polish the silver if doing so brings you pleasure. Set out the flowers. Make the recipe your grandmother served every year because the holiday wouldn’ t taste quite right without it. But perhaps give yourself permission to leave something undone, too. Make food you love. Sit down while it is still hot. Pour yourself a glass of something. Listen to the stories being told around your table.
And when someone asks what they can bring, you might consider borrowing a line from Sussman’ s mother. Good conversation will do.
Chicken Thighs With Roasted Figs and Grapes
Adapted from Adeena Sussman’ s cookbook“ Shabbat: Recipes and Rituals From My Table to Yours”
Ingredients
• 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, patted dry
• 1 / 4 cup olive oil
• 2 small red onions, cut into
8 wedges
• 3 to 4 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 / 2 cup of dry white wine( I’ d use something crisp and dry, such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio or an unoaked Chardonnay)
• 3 / 4 cup of chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons grainy Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 lemon, zested and juiced( one for the sauce and one for the finishing)
• 8 whole figs
• 1 pound red grapes
• A bunch of thyme sprigs, plus chopped thyme for garnish
• 1 / 4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Maldon salt, for finishing
Preparation
• Heat the oven to 400 F.
• In a bowl, whisk together the chicken broth, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, lemon juice and zest, red pepper flakes, a generous pinch of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.
• Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy, oven-safe cooking vessel over medium-high heat. Working in two batches to avoid crowding the pan, add the chicken, skin side down, and cook until the skin is deeply golden and crisp, about 5 minutes. Flip and cook for 1 additional minute. Transfer to a plate.
• Add the onions to the pot and
cook until golden on the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the onions, add the smashed garlic and cook for another minute. Transfer the onions and garlic to the plate with the chicken.
• Pour in the white wine, deglazing the pot and scraping up the browned bits from the bottom. Cook until the wine has reduced by roughly half, for about 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add the broth mixture and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, allowing the sauce to reduce slightly and the flavors to come together.
• Return the chicken, onions and garlic to the pot. Nestle the figs and grapes among the chicken pieces and scatter the thyme sprigs throughout. Spoon some of the sauce over the chicken.
• Transfer the uncovered pot to the oven and roast for about 25 minutes, until the fruit begins to soften and release its juices.
• After 25 minutes, increase the oven temperature to 425 F. Spoon the pan sauce over the chicken again and continue roasting until the figs and grapes are caramelized and the chicken skin is crisp and deep mahogany, about 15 minutes more. The chicken should reach an internal temperature of at least 165 F.
• Now, we season to taste. If your sauce needs something more, add it.
• Finish with a generous squeeze of lemon juice, fresh lemon zest, chopped thyme and a pinch, or more, of Maldon salt. before serving.