Rosh Hashanah Blessings in a Pot
Prep. Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
1:15 hr
Servings
6-8 plates
Difficulty
Intermediate
Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free, dairy-free, egg-free
Stove and Oven
Cooking required:
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For Rosh Hashanah, I wanted one dish that could bring several of the traditional symbolic foods - simanim - straight to the center of the table. This pot combines black-eyed peas, leek, dates, apple, squash, green vegetables, and silan in a savory-sweet broth, then finishes in the oven so everything gets tender with roasted edges. The ingredients keep their own character, which makes the pot especially nice for the holiday table and lets everyone choose the vegetables they like. The silan and dates add gentle sweetness, while the herbs, lemon pepper, turmeric, fried onions, and black garlic keep the flavors firmly on the savory side.
Ingredients
2 cups cooked black-eyed peas, or 1–2 cans, drained and rinsed
1 large onion, sliced and fried until golden
3 baby bok choy, leaves separated
2 cups green beans, trimmed
3 cups butternut squash, peeled, and cut into cubes
6–8 dried dates, rinsed
1 Granny Smith apple, cut into cubes with the peel
3 leek stalks, white part only, quartered lengthwise
2 heads black garlic, halved
2 cups warm vegetable broth
Seasoning
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, or a mix of parsley, thyme, rosemary, oregano, and basil
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
2 tablespoons silan (date syrup)
Instructions
In a large, shallow oven-safe pot, sautee the chopped onion until golden.
To the sauteed onion, add and spread the cooked black-eyed peas across.
Arrange the bok choy, green beans, butternut squash, dates, apple, and leek over the peas, keeping the vegetables in separate sections if you want the finished pot to show each ingredient clearly.
Whisk the warm vegetable broth with turmeric, Italian seasoning, sweet paprika, lemon pepper, and silan.
Pour the sauce evenly over the vegetables.
Cover the pot and bring it to a boil on the stovetop.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes.
Heat the oven to 400°F/200°C.
Remove the lid and nestle the halved black garlic heads on top of the vegetables.
Transfer the uncovered pot to the oven and roast for about 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and nicely browned around the edges.
Serve warm, spooning some of the black-eyed peas, onions, vegetables, dates, apple, and cooking juices into each portion.
Notes
You can use canned or home-cooked black-eyed peas, or a different type of bean, as preferred.
Keep the vegetable pieces fairly large so they hold their shape during the long cook.
Granny Smith apple works well because it stays pleasantly tart against the dates and silan.
Add the black garlic only before roasting so its flavor stays distinct.
If the pot looks dry before going into the oven, add a small splash of vegetable broth or water.
Leftovers keep well refrigerated for 3–4 days and reheat best covered in the oven or gently on the stovetop.
