Let's Feast and Fress - Shanah Tovah

Let’s Feast and Fress

To Emanuel School’s parents, and students too, To grandparents, and alumni both old and new, To the dedicated staff, who nurture and guide, We wish you a year with joy by your side.

It’s not just the School’s, but the world’s birthday too, A day to reflect and celebrate with you. Rosh Hashanah is coming, a New Year so near, A time for reflection, spreading kindness and care.

In this community, we’re all together, With recipes that’ll make you say, “Oh, how clever!” From sweet honey cakes to brisket so tender, Our secret ingredients, we gladly surrender.

As we cook and we bake, in our kitchens we stand, May we all be surrounded by a loving band, With family and friends, we hold oh so dear, Together we’ll cherish this time of the year.

So as the sun sets and the stars appear, Let’s hold each other close, draw near and near, In the next year ahead, with hope, love, and cheer, We’ll gather again, same time, same place, next year!

So to the New Year, a wish from the heart, For a year that’s sweet, where joy has its part. May your family gatherings be filled with delight, As you gather ‘round the glowing table tonight.

With apples and honey, we’ll start the year right, With love in our hearts and our spirits alight. So here’s to a year that’s as sweet as can be, See you next year, for a new recipe!

AN INTRODUCTION TO FOOD (WHICH, IN REALITY, REALLY NEEDS NO INTRODUCTION!)

Food is intrinsically linked to being Jewish. Our holidays have always been linked to the seasons. Rosh Hashanah comes around as the spring jasmine is starting to bloom and we anticipate new fruits and seasonal vegetables on the table. Foods are also thematichamantaschen on Purim, matzah balls on Pesach, honey-based treats on Rosh Hashanah and delicious oily foods on Chanukah. But there’s more: food is also a medium for connection, for community and to demonstrate care and continuity, from grandparents to grandchildren. My sister says she can still smell the chicken soup which filled the corridors in our grandparents’ apartment building.

Jewish food links us to tradition and history and also adapts to time and place. Our ancestors probably did not put chocolate chips in their challah, matcha in their honey-cakes or miso in their chicken. In this way, food remains a link to our past and evolves with us into the future.

Nowhere is food more Jewishly potent than Rosh Hashanah where our traditional food practices play on the adage ‘your upcoming year is what you eat’. Our Rosh Hashanah foods are simanim, literally foreshadowing the year ahead.

We eat round challahs for the cyclical nature of the year, we focus on sweetness in the form of honey because we long for more sweetness in our lives. Some of us might recall having an entire fish on the table, including the head and the eye, so that our next year should be ‘the head and not the tail.’

Some foods are eaten because of the portend of their name. Carrots are popular on Rosh Hashanah (think tzimmes or carrot soup), because the word for carrot is gezer, which is the same root as the word for gezeirah, meaning decree and we are hoping God will grant us a good decree in the year ahead. We also have a tradition of

avoiding walnuts on Rosh Hashanah because the word egoz (walnut) is the same numerical value as the word cheit/sin (something we want to avoid). Simanim have modernised - a core ingredient of Vegemite is yeast, (shemarim in Hebrew). Shemar also means to protect. Some of us spread vegemite on our challah, asking God to protect us in the year ahead.

From Teshuvah to the table, Rosh Hashanah is marked by introspection, prayer and good deeds and also by inviting guests and cooking and baking our way into the new year.

An Emanuel recipe book for Rosh Hashanah allows us to focus on our families while also feeling connected to the wider Emanuel community. The recipe book reminds us that food is so much more than eating. Food contains history, tradition, meaning and stories.

We cook grandma’s chicken soup and our best friend’s brisket recipe. We make our brother-in-law’s lentil stew and the Emanuel Challah Bake’s challah. We share our knowledge and our expertise and we make each recipe our own. In this way, a recipe book is the perfect embodiment of the Emanuel community. It’s a collection of our diverse community’s stories, traditions, tastes and flavours, connecting us and honouring our uniqueness at the same time!

Shana Tovah U’metuka, Blessings for a sweet and good new year, Happy cooking into 5784!

Morah Adina Roth, Head of Jewish Life

ROTH’S ROSH HASHANAH SIDE OF SALMON FROM THE KITCHEN OF ADINA ROTH

Something I love to do for Rosh Hashanah is a whole fish (although I don’t usually do the head and the eye… there are some limits). The idea is that it is customary to have a whole fish on your table for Rosh Hashanah because we should aim to be the head, and not the tail. I also like doing a milk meal because it means you can have delicious dairy desserts and it fits into a harvest, spring feel which fits in with the newness of the season and Rosh Hashanah in the Southern Hemisphere.

I usually go for an entire side of salmon. I learned from a fisherwoman on the wharf in Kalk Bay in Cape Town that if you want fish to stay moist you need to use lots of vegetables and citrus in baking it.

Ingredients

1 large side of salmon (to fill a baking tray)

4 red onion, cut into rounds

4 oranges, cut into rounds

4 lemons, cut into rounds

6 cloves of garlic

Seafood herb mix (or a mix of fresh dill, coriander and parsley)

Extra lemon juice

Coarse salt and pepper

A handful of pomegranate seeds (optional)

Method

• Sprinkle the fish with lemon juice, salt and pepper.

• Cover the fish with rounds of onions, orange and lemon so the entire fish is beautifully laden with these ingredients.

• Add dill, coriander and parsley/herb mix.

• Pack the garlic cloves in and around the fish.

• Bake at 180oC on the middle rung for about 20-30 minutes until the fish is cooked and juicy (not dry) and the onions are a little cooked.

• Make a mayonnaise and herb dressing and serve with roast potatoes, roast sweet potatoes and salads.

SIMA’S BRISKET FROM THE KITCHEN OF DAVID ELIOVSON

This family recipe was based on that of my Sephardi grandmother, Sima Eliovson. She was a famous gardening and cooking author. Most South Africans have a similar version of this recipe, but this one has been adapted by my mum, Jacqui, to be super easy and has all the info on where to get the ingredients in Oz.

Ingredients

3-4kg brisket (fat trimmed)

Salt and pepper (if using kosher meat use less salt and spices)

1 packet Knox dry onion soup

1 packet dry mushroom soup

1 tablespoon peppercorns

3 large onions, sliced into rings

1 litre ginger ale

2 bay leaves

Ground or fresh ginger, to taste (optional) Sliced mushrooms (optional)

Method

•

• Place brisket on roasting pan and cover with soup powder.

• Add peppercorns, bay leaves and ginger to taste, if using.

• Add onions and sliced mushrooms (optional) to cover the meat

•

• Cover for part of roasting and keep an eye it does not dry out. Half

• For the last half an hour uncover to allow sauce and meat to

SMOKEY BRISKET AND HONEY CARROTS FROM THE KITCHEN OF MARGARET LOWE

You know that I’m not Jewish and don’t celebrate Rosh Hashanah, but this recipe is perfect for a Rosh Hashanah meal.

FOR THE BRISKET

Ingredients

½ cup smoky BBQ sauce

¼ cup bourbon

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

¼ - ½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1.3kg beef brisket

Method

• Combine BBQ sauce, bourbon, garlic, paprika and cayenne pepper in a 20cm x 30cm baking dish.

• Add brisket and turn to coat. Marinate, covered, in fridge for four hours or overnight if you have time. Bring to room temperature.

• Preheat oven to 160oC or 140oC fan-forced.

• Cover dish with foil and bake for 4½ hours (turning beef halfway through) or until very tender and sauce has caramelised.

FOR THE CARROTS

Ingredients

500g baby carrots

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

2 talespoons honey

2 tablespoons oil

Half lemon juiced

Method

Coat carrots in the ingredients and roast.

MUM’S ROAST BEEF FROM THE KITCHEN OF GABRIELLE REIN

This is a regular at the Rein/Keen Shabbat table and loved by all!

Ingredients

1.5kg scotch fillet

2 tablespoons ground ginger

2 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons crushed garlic

2 tablespoons oil

Method

• Preheat oven to 175°C.

• Place the scotch fillet in a baking dish.

• Meanwhile simmer all remaining ingredients in a small saucepan over a medium heat for 1-2 minutes.

• Pour sauce over beef and bake for about 1 hour, basting once or twice.

KIRA MAISEL’S GAGGA’S NOVELTY ROAST FROM THE KITCHEN OF MARCELLE ZAR

I am Kira Maisel’s Gagga and Ilana’s Mom from South Africa – Marcelle Zar. We are looking forward to being in Australia soon to be with the family over all the Yom Tavim. This recipe has been enjoyed by our family over Yom Tavim and special Shabbos meals. It is easy to make and if I say so myself, delicious! Hope you like it!

Ingredients

1½ kg fresh brisket

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon onion salt

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 packet Telma onion soup

3 cloves garlic

Method

• Sprinkle onion soup mix, garlic salt, onion salt and ginger over the brisket.

• Insert 2-3 cloves of garlic into the meat.

• Wrap tightly in tin foil and place in pyrex/glass dish on the bottom rack of the oven at 130°C for four to five hours

• Allow to cool, then slice.

• Can be made the day before and reheated for a further ½ hour.

• If dry, add additional ½ packet onion soup and a little water to cover.

GRANNY RUBY’S SECRET CHICKEN PIE FROM THE KITCHEN OF LINDY STERN

Ingredients

3 ready roasted chickens

¼ cup cooked rice

1 onion

1 clove of garlic

1 cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon chutney

1 tablespoon apricot jam

1 tablespoon curried powder

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon flour

Salt and pepper

Puff pastry

Method

• Fry onions with garlic in 1-2 tablespoons oil until golden.

• Add curry powder and 1 heaped tablespoon flour.

• Stir on low heat for 1 minute.

• Add the chicken stock which will thicken.

• Add a pinch of salt and pepper, ground ginger, lemon juice, sugar, chutney and jam.

• Add more stock if too thick along with cooked rice.

• Place in a deep pie dish with puff pastry on top.

• Brush with beaten egg.

• Bake at 250oC for 30 minutes.

MUM’S BEST BAKED CHICKEN FROM THE KITCHEN OF KATIE NARUNSKY

This is a family favourite, full of flavour. I make it on Rosh Hashanah along with rice.

Ingredients

2kg chicken pieces

2 large onions, chopped

1 green capsicum, diced

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 teaspoon paprika

2 teaspoon chicken stock powder

1 cup water

½ cup tomato sauce

¼ cup vinegar

¼ cup sweet chilli sauce

¼ cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon honey

Method

• Preheat oven to 180°C (fan forced).

• Spray a large pan with oil and cook onions, green capsicum, garlic and cumin seeds until soft and fragrant.

• Add chicken and cook pieces until pieces are sealed and well coated with mixture.

• Sprinkle with paprika and stock powder. Mix well.

• In a separate bowl combine water, tomato sauce, vinegar, sweet chilli sauce and soy sauce.

• Pour over chicken and mix well. Bring to the boil and transfer to oven proof dish.

• Bake uncovered for 1 hour, basting every 15 minutes.

• Drizzle honey over chicken and bake for a further 30 minutes, or until nicely browned.

LILY’S COCA COLA CHICKEN FROM THE KITCHEN OF TALIA KERSH

This is a recipe from Dean and Micaela Kersh’s grandmother, Lilly Maltz. It’s the perfect dish for a sweet new year.

Ingredients

1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces

½ cup tomato sauce

½ cup Coca Cola

½ cup apricot jam

Method

• Mix tomato sauce, Coca Cola and apricot jam.

• Marinate chicken in sauce for a few hours.

• Place chicken in baking dish.

• Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180oC, turning every 15 minutes for about 45 minutes or until all sides are browned and cooked through.

• Place chicken pieces on serving dish.

• Reduce sauce in small pot until thickened over low heat and pour over chicken.

• Serve with rice.

CHICKEN, RICE AND VEGETABLE BAKE FROM THE KITCHEN OF ESTI LIPSON

A family favourite for many years.

Ingredients

1 chicken or chicken pieces

Olive oil, paprika, garlic, chicken powder and chilli (if preferred)

White or brown rice

1 brown onion

½ capsicum

1 tomato

A selection of cut up squash, cabbage, zucchini, cauliflower, pumpkin, sweet potato, carrot and broccoli

Method

• Marinate chicken overnight in the fridge with olive oil, paprika, garlic, chicken powder and chilli (if preferred)

The following day:

• Thoroughly grease a baking dish

• Top with uncooked rice and then cut up vegetables

• Place chicken on top of the rice and veggies

• Pour hot water over the top: 1 cup of rice = 2 cups of water

• Stock can be used instead, if desired.

• Add additional water during cooking, if needed.

• Cook at 200oC for approx 1 hour.

BRAISED

RED CABBAGE FROM THE KITCHEN OF JUSTINE HOFMAN

This is a recipe from Mahli, Jude and Kirra Olian’s Nan in Melbourne - Ann Lesh - an incredible home cook who expresses her love through her food. It has been a part of our Rosh Hashanah and Shabbat feasts for as long as we can remember. Everyone loves it and there is rarely any left over after a meal!

Ingredients

½ small red cabbage, shredded

1 brown onion, sliced

1-2 tablespoons olive oil (to fry onions)

Juice of 1 lemon

1-2 tablespoons sugar

Sea salt, 1 big pinch

Ground pepper to taste

Method

• In a medium pot, brown the onions in oil.

• Add cabbage and toss until coated in oil and mixed with onion.

• Add salt, sugar and mix.

• Add lemon juice.

• Cover the pot and reduce heat to low flame and simmer for 10-15 min.

• Taste to see if more sugar or salt required and add ground pepper

• Let sit in pot for 10 minutes so flavours come out.

This can be made day before. Reheat before serving. As with any good recipe, quantities are approximate and can be adjusted accordingly.

CARROT RING

FROM THE KITCHEN OF CARYN ZELLER

Ingredients

165-185g margarine or ¾ cup oil

½ cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 cup finely grated carrots

1¼ cup flour

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 tablespoon warm water

Method

• Beat margarine and sugar well.

• Add ingredients in order as above, beating all the time.

• Bake in well greased ring tin at 180ºC for around 30 minutes.

CUCUMBER SALAD FROM THE KITCHEN OF SAMANTHA SCHWARTZ (ALONA’S MUM)

Ingredients

10 mini cucumbers, cut to thin slices

½ sweet onion, cut into thin slices

Handful of chopped dill and mint leaves

Pinch of salt

4 teaspoons of olive oil

Juice from ½ lemon Method

• Place the cucumbers, onions and herbs in a pretty bowl

• Season with salt, olive oil and lemon

• Mix and enjoy!

JOY’S PEROGEN RECIPE FROM THE KITCHEN OF LISA STROUS

This is my mother in law’s recipe (Joy Strous). She used to make these with her mum and grandmother for Rosh Hashanah. This year we carried on the tradition and made them with three generations againJoy, myself and my daughter Tali Strous (Year 5).

Ingredients

500g chicken (or beef) mince

2 large onions, chopped

Oil for frying

4 teaspoons beef stock (dissolved in hot water)

4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

3 teaspoons Bisto gravy dissolved in ½ cup hot water

4 teaspoons tomato paste

Puff pastry

Method for cooking mince mixture

• Fry chicken

• Fry onions until browned

• Add stock and rest of ingredients

• Cook on low temp until water has evaporated

• Pulse in a food processor and set aside mixture to cool

Method for assembly

• Preheat oven to 200ºC (fan-forced).

• Take nine sheets of puff pastry and lay out each sheet flat.

• Use a cookie cutter to cut puff pastry into circles - nine per sheet.

• Place 1 small teaspoon of mince in to the middle of each circle.

• Dip your finger into a cup of water and run it around the perimeter of the pastry to moisten it.

• Fold the pastry in half and use a fork to seal the edges.

• Place on a baking tray.

• Make an egg wash slightly diluted with water and brush the top of each perogen with egg wash.

• Bake in oven for approximately 10 minutes until golden brown (note - if not using straight away then bake slightly under done as they will need to be reheated in oven prior to serving).

• Allow to cool (note these can be frozen for future use).

MAYA’S CARROT TZIMMES FROM THE KITCHEN OF DANIELA FREED

This recipe has always been a constant on our Rosh Hashanah dinner table for as long as I can remember. I think it reminds me of my childhood and family - all happy and confirming memories.

Ingredients

8 large carrots

Orange juice to cover

4 tablespoons honey (or to taste)

4 tablespoons oil

Method

• Scrape or peel the carrots, cut into slices and cover with orange juice.

• Boil for ten minutes.

• Add the honey and oil.

• Lower the heat and continue to cook until the carrots are soft and glazed, and the liquid is almost all absorbed.

• Serve warm or chill before serving.

YUMMY

AND HEALTHY BROCCOLI PIE FROM THE KITCHEN OF LINDA ROUSSOS, COBY AND JACE MEDGUIDECHE’S GRANDMOTHER

When my mum first got married she learnt how to make this recipe from my auntie and somehow making it for Rosh Hashanah has been a tradition in our family ever since. It’s a recipe that has been passed down through the generations, starting from a relative in Canada.

Ingredients

2 packets frozen broccoli

1½ tablespoons oil

1 tablespoon plain flour

3 eggs

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Osem dry onion soup mix

1 tablespoon Osem dry vegetable soup mix

Method

• Blend all ingredients in food processor.

• Add eggs one at a time.

• Grease dish and put mixture in.

• Sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs.

• Bake at 180°C for appoximately 40 minutes.

POLENTA CHIPS AND TRUFFLE HONEY FROM THE KITCHEN OF MARGARET LOWE

Ingredients

Olive oil, to grease

2 litres vegetable liquid stock

1 x 500g packet instant polenta (cornmeal)

1 cup finely grated parmesan (or nutritional yeast for vegan)

Vegetable oil, to deep-fry OR place on baking tray in a hot oven

Truffle honey (can use regular honey but it’s not as fancy) – can obtain from Simon Johnson

Method

• Brush two 22 x 30cm baking pans with olive oil to lightly grease.

• Bring the stock to the boil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat. Use a balloon whisk to stir the stock.

• Gradually add the polenta in a thin steady stream, whisking constantly until all the polenta is incorporated into the stock.

• Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for two minutes or until mixture thickens and polenta is soft. Remove from heat and stir in the parmesan.

• Pour the polenta evenly over the bases of the prepared pans and use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface.

• Cover with non-stick baking paper and set aside to cool. Place in the fridge for four hours or overnight to set.

• Turn polenta onto a clean work surface. Use a sharp knife to cut off the curved edges. Cut lengthways into 2cm strips. Cut each strip into 8cm-long pieces.

• Add enough oil to a large heavy-based saucepan to reach a depth of 6cm. Heat to 180oC over high heat (when oil is ready a cube of bread will turn golden brown in 15 seconds).

• Add one-sixth of the polenta chips and deep-fry for five minutes or until golden brown. Use a slotted spoon to transfer chips to a plate lined with paper towel. Repeat, in five more batches, with the remaining polenta

• Place on serving plate and trickle honey over the top of the chips.

CASHEW AND PAPAYA SALAD FROM THE KITCHEN OF ESTI LIPSON

FOR THE SALAD

Ingredients

Mixed lettuce

1 small papaya or 2 mangoes peeled, pitted and sliced

1 punnet strawberries hulled and halved (or quartered)

3¼ cups chopped shallots

1-2 avocados, sliced and drizzled with lemon juice

½ cup dried cranberries

1 cup unsalted cashews

FOR THE DRESSING

Ingredients

½ cup oil

80ml white vinegar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoons soy sauce

Just under 1 tablespoon curry powder

Method

• Arrange lettuce on platter, top with papaya or mango, strawberries, avocado and dried cranberries.

• Just before serving, add nuts and dressing.

APPLE STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING FROM THE KITCHEN OF STEVIE LEVENSTON

My family loves this dessert because it combines Rosh Hashanah’s apple cake with sticky date pudding – one of our all-time favourite desserts. This cake provides you with a unique spin on a Rosh Hashanah classic that we hope your family will enjoy.

FOR THE CAKE Ingredients

Non-stick vegetable oil spray

6 red apples peeled, cored, cut into 1.5cm pieces (about 4 cups)

2 tablespoons plus 1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoons plus ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup chopped pitted Medjool dates

¾ cup warm freshly brewed coffee

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1½ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Method

• Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 180°C. Coat a 23cm square baking pan with non-stick vegetable oil and line with parchment paper.

• To cook, place apples into a medium saucepan. Add light brown sugar, unsalted butter, ground cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt in the saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until apples are glossy and softened but not mushy, around 10 minutes. Let cool.

• Combine chopped pitted Medjool dates and warm freshly brewed coffee in a small bowl; let sit 10 minutes.

• Meanwhile, beat remaining light brown sugar and unsalted butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until light and fluffy - about five minutes.

APPLE STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING CONT. FROM THE KITCHEN OF STEVIE LEVENSTON

• Scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase speed to medium-low and, with motor running, add 3 large eggs one at a time, beating until combined after each addition.

• Beat in vanilla extract.

• Reduce speed to low and mix in date mixture. The batter will look split at this point.

• Sift all-purpose flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and remaining kosher salt into a medium bowl.

• Add cooked apples and toss lightly to combine; set remaining cooked apples aside for serving.

• Add to brown sugar mixture in stand mixer bowl and gently fold with a rubber spatula until just combined.

• Scrape batter into prepared baking pan and place pan on a rimmed baking sheet.

• Bake cake until a tester inserted into the centre comes out cleanabout 30 minutes.

• Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cake cool in pan for five minutes.

FOR THE SAUCE

Ingredients

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup light brown sugar

Method

½ cup unsalted butter

½ teaspoon kosher salt

• While the cake is baking, bring heavy cream, light brown sugar, unsalted butter and kosher salt to a simmer in a medium heavy saucepan over medium-low heat.

• Cook, stirring often, until sauce is shiny and thick enough to coat a spoon, 8–10 minutes.

• Turn cake out of pan onto a platter and peel away parchment paper, discard.

• Pour ½ cup toffee sauce over and brush top and sides of cake to coat.

• Cut cake into squares and serve topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, if desired, and remaining cooked apples and toffee sauce.

HONEY BISCUITS

FROM THE KITCHEN OF STACEY ROSENFELD

Ingredients

115g butter

85g caster sugar plus an extra tablespoon

1 egg yolk

170g self-raising flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon plus an extra ½ teaspoon

pinch salt

60g honey

Method

• Cream butter and sugar.

• Add egg yolk and beat into mixture.

• Add sifted flour, cinnamon and salt.

• Warm honey so that it’s runny (10 seconds in the microwave should work well) and add to the mixture.

• Beat well.

• Place mixture into fridge for 10 minutes (or until it’s just firm enough to roll into balls).

• Mix together additional sugar and cinnamon.

• Roll mixture into walnut-sized balls and coat in sugar and cinnamon mixture.

• Space balls of mixture apart on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

• Bake in a moderate oven for 20 minutes.

Source: Cooking with Nanaling

ROSH HASHANAH HONEY CAKE FROM THE KITCHEN OF ERIKA KTALAV

Comment by the editor: Erika is the Baking Queen of Emanuel School! If there’s a delicious cake or biscuits, we know who they come from!

Ingredients

¾ cup oil

¾ cup honey

2 eggs

½ cup brown sugar

2 cups self-rising flour

3 tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¾ cup instant coffee (1 teaspoon instant coffee and the rest warm water)

A pinch of ground cloves (optional)

Pecans (optional)

Method

• Preheat oven to 180°C.

• Mix flour and cinnamon alternatively with the 3/4 cup instant coffee. Mix well.

• Add maple syrup and mix gently.

• Pour the mixture into a 24cm round baking tin and decorate with peacans, if using.

• Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

GLUTEN AND DAIRY FREE HONEY CAKE FROM THE KITCHEN OF ERIKA KTALAV

Comment by the editor: Erika gave me a taste of this cake and it is absolutely delicious!

Ingredients

4 eggs

¼ cup of oil/coconut oil

¾ cup honey

pinch salt

1-3 tablespoon of sugar

1 teaspoon of instant coffee dissolved in a quarter of a cup of hot water or a quarter of a cup of black tea

A cup and a half of almond flour

½ cup of rice flour/corn flour/tapioca flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

slivered almonds to decorate

½ teaspoon of cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, a pinch ground

cloves

Method

• Pre-heat oven to 180°C (fan forced) and line the baking pan with baking paper.

• Place all the wet ingredients, eggs, oil, honey, sugar, salt and coffee/tea in a bowl and mix well. I really recommend mixing in a blender or using a stick blender, it will give a wonderful airiness to the cake. If you don’t have a blender, a whisk will also do the job.

• In a separate bowl, place the dry ingredients, almond flour, rice flour, baking powder and mix well. Add the spices.

• Combine the wet and dry batter and mix well.

• Transfer to a loaf plan, sprinkle silvered almonds over the cake and place in oven for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out dry from the cake.

• Remove from oven, cool a little before serving.

VIVIENNE’S HONEY CAKE (CHARLIE’S GRANDMOTHER) FROM THE KITCHEN OF SHARON CAMPBELL

My daughter Charlie is in Year K. She loves to bake and it is an activity that we enjoy doing together. This recipe is from Vivienne Joseph, my mother in law – she was a wonderful baker. Unfortunately, she passed away whilst I was pregnant with Charlie, so Charlie didn’t get to meet her. We like to make Vivienne’s chocolate and honey cake recipes and we talk about her grandmother whilst we are baking.

Ingredients

1 cup castor sugar

½ cup honey

½ cup oil (sunflower or vegetable)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1½ teaspoons cinnamon powder

½ teaspoons allspice

1 teaspoon cocoa

2 cups self-raising flour

1 cup boiled water

Method

• Place the oil, sugar and honey in a mixing bowl and blend until well combined.

• Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well.

• Sift all the dry ingredients together and boil the kettle for the hot water.

• Slowly combine all the ingredients together adding the dry and then the wet ingredients to the mixing bowl, a bit at a time.

• The mixture will be ‘wetter’ than butter-based cake recipes when all combined, but don’t be concerned.

• Pour into a greased or lined baking tin.

• Bake at 180oC (160oC fan forced) for about 45 minutes (or until a skewer comes out clean).

MISH-GISH’S MOTHER’S HONEY CAKE FROM THE KITCHEN OF MICHELLE FAVERO

This is my go-to ‘Honey Cake’ for Rosh Hashanah. I put the words in inverted commas as, despite the name, it doesn’t have an ounce of honey in it! It is deliciously sweet and not at all good for your arteries, but by jove, you will be the most popular guest in the room! It is really yummy on its own, but overwhelmingly delicious with the butterscotch sauce. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

FOR THE CAKE

Ingredients

500g plain flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

200g soft light brown sugar

3 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon mixed spice

2 eggs

250g butter

300ml golden syrup

300ml milk

Method

• Preheat the oven to 170°C fan-forced.

• Grease and line a 25cm springform tin.

• Put the flour, baking powder, sugar, bicarbonate of soda and mixed spice into a bowl. In another smaller bowl beat the eggs.

• Melt the butter and golden syrup in a saucepan on a gentle heat, add the milk and let it cool a little before adding to the flour mixture with the eggs.

• Whisk the mixture until smooth and then pour the batter into the greased and lined tin, and bake for 1¼–1½ hours. The cake will rise during cooking (but fall on cooling) though you want the middle to remain a bit sticky.

• Let the cake cool in the tin completely before you take it out and serve.

MISH-GISH’S MOTHER’S HONEY CAKE CONT. FROM THE KITCHEN OF MICHELLE FAVERO

FOR THE BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE

Ingredients

3 tablespoons light brown sugar

2 tablespoons white sugar

50g unsalted butter

150g golden syrup

125ml double cream

Method

• Heat the brown sugar, white sugar, butter and golden syrup in a saucepan.

• After five minutes’ bubbling away, add the double cream. Stir well, and when all is smooth and combined, serve.

• You can just as easily make this in advance, leave it in the pan and reheat to warm when you want it.

Source: Feast by Nigella Lawson

MY MUM’S HONEY CAKE FROM THE KITCHEN OF STACEY ROSENFELD

Ingredients

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup oil

¾ cup honey

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

½ to 1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon cocoa

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 cup self-raising flour

I cup plain flour

I cup boiling water (over the years I have made this using warm water as sometimes when you add water that is too hot it can go lumpy. If this occurs run it through a strainer/sieve as you put into your baking tin)

Method

• Preheat a moderate oven (approx 160°C fan-force). Be watchful of the temperature as the cake can burn due to high honey/ sugar content.

• Mix eggs and sugar.

• Add oil and honey.

• Add all dry ingredients: bicarbonate of soda, spices, cocoa and flours.

• Add water slowly.

• Add to springform baking tin. Note: the batter will be runny (do not fear!).

• Bake for approximately 50-60 minutes depending on your oven.

• The cake is ready when skewer comes out clean and it is a rich golden caramel brown.

EASY HONEY CAKE TRIFLE FROM THE KITCHEN OF MARGARET LOWE

Ingredients and Method

Layer the following in a glass bowl and refrigerate:

• Layer of honey cake

• Layer of pears slow roasted in butter and honey – let the syrup drip into the cake

• Layer of Greek yoghurt

• Repeat as many times as your bowl will allow

• Sprinkle roasted walnuts over the top

• Drizzle honey over the top.

HONEY JUMBLES FROM THE KITCHEN OF TANY MILNER

During COVID, as Rosh Hashanah approached, I made hundreds of honey jumbles and found little icing bees that I put on them. They just felt happy and they are definitely tasty!

FOR THE BISCUITS

Ingredients

80g butter

¾ cup honey

¼ cup brown sugar

2 cups plain flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

2 tablespoons milk

Method

• Preheat oven to 180°C

• Mix butter, honey and sugar over medium heat.

• Stir for 2-3 minutes or until butter melts and mixture simmers. Cool for 10 minutes.

• Mix flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves in a bowl.

• Add the honey mixture and milk and mix.

• Cover with plastic and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

• Line two baking trays with baking paper. Put dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Divide into four even portions. Roll each into a 1.5cm thick log.

• Use a small sharp knife to cut each log into 6cm lengths.

• Place on the lined trays, allowing room for spreading. Gently press each biscuit until 1cm thick.

• Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Take out of the oven and let them cool completely on the trays.

HONEY JUMBLES CONT. FROM THE KITCHEN OF TANY MILNER

FOR THE ICING

Ingredients

1 egg (only the white is needed)

1½ cups icing sugar

Food colouring if you want colours other than white (I use pink)

Method

• Whisk the egg white in a bowl until frothy. Add the icing sugar. Stir until smooth.

• Spread half the icing over half the biscuits (for white biscuits). Tint remaining icing pink with food colouring.

• Spread pink icing over the remaining biscuits. Set aside for 30 minutes or until icing is set.

Source: Taste magazine

BRONTE’S FAMOUS PEAR AND GINGER CAKE FROM THE KITCHEN OF LISA ORGIAS

Ingredients

2 cups firmly packed brown sugar

250g butter, melted, cooled

3 packham pears, peeled, cored, cut into 2cm slices

1 cup golden syrup

2 eggs

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, sifted

2½ cups plain flour, sifted

2 teaspoons ground ginger, sifted

1 teaspoon mixed spice, sifted

200g light sour cream

Method

• Preheat oven to 160°C/140°C fan-forced.

• Lightly grease a 6cm deep, 23cm (base) cake pan.

• Line base and sides with baking paper.

• Sprinkle ½ cup sugar over base of prepared pan.

• Pour a third of a cup of butter over sugar.

• Arrange pear slices in a single layer over butter and sugar.

• Place remaining butter in a large bowl.

• Whisk in syrup, eggs, soda, flour, ground ginger, mixed spice and remaining sugar.

• Stir in sour cream. Pour batter over pears.

• Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

• Stand for 10 minutes.

• Turn out on to a platter. Serve.

MASAFAN FROM THE KITCHEN OF RACHEL SZEKELY

Masafan is a family favourite. There are a lot of reasons why we love this recipe. It’s nutty, delicious and so different to anything you can buy on the shelf. It’s super simple to make the batter but the true magic of these biscuits is sitting around the table with many generations all chatting and laughing while making stars. Some are big and wonky others are small and crumbly, but all are delicious. Don’t be tempted to rush and make them into round balls, the points on the star are especially crispy and delicious!

Ingredients

1kg ground almonds

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 tablespoons self-raising flour (optional)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1-2 teaspoons rose or vanilla essence

Method

• Mix almonds, sugar, eggs and flour together.

• Add essence.

• Roll into balls, flatten and squeeze five points to make stars.

• Bake at 160oC for approximately 10-15 minutes until lightly brown.

RAW CHOCOLATE FROM THE KITCHEN OF LIBBY NATHAN

We all love this chocolate. It hits the spot when we feel like something sweet. There’s something very gratifying about making your own chocolate. This one is decadent, utterly delicious in a melt-in-yourmouth kind of way. It is full of goodness from good fats and raw cacao. It is also dairy free. Let your creative juices flow and incorporate macadamia nuts, almonds, activated buckwheat or peppermint essential oil. Silicon molds work a treat here as you can easily pop the chocolates out once set. If you have enough molds I would recommend making a double batch. Note - cacao butter is the fat from the cacao bean. It is what gives chocolate that quintessential silky smooth feel. Although this isn’t a traditional Rosh Hashanah treat, it’s sweet and hence, I guess, fitting!

Ingredients

140g cacao butter

2-3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

¼ cup raw cacao powder

½ teaspoon vanilla essence

A pinch of sea salt

Method

• Fill a small pot with hot water (roughly two thirds of the way up).

• Place a dry stainless steel bowl on top of the pot, ensuring it’s sitting a bit above the water.

• Place all of the ingredients in the bowl and on low heat, allow the cacao butter to melt, whisking as it does, until you have a pourable, silky smooth chocolate. Transfer this into a pouring jug.

• Grab your silicon chocolate molds and fill each compartment.

• Transfer to the fridge or freezer to set.

LEBKUCHEN FROM THE KITCHEN OF SONIA NEWELL VIA RITA NEWELL, GRANDMOTHER TO DAVID KNESPAL (CLASS OF 2012) AND STEPHANIE KNESPAL (CLASS OF 2013)

This is a favourite recipe of my mother, Rita Newell (born in Cologne, Germany in 1926), a Kindertransport child. She arrived in Australia in 1947 with her parents who hid underground in Belgium during WW2, and was reunited with them through The Red Cross after the War ended. She met and married my father, Allan Newell (Ele Niewodowski) a Holocaust survivor, born in Bialystok, Poland in 1919, sole survivor of his entire family. Mum has been baking Lebkuchen using this recipe for more than 60 years after my father bought her the cookbook a few years after they got married. The recipe has been shared with many friends and family members over the years, and the Lebkuchen has been eaten by many more!

Ingredients

4 eggs

3½ cups brown sugar

3½ cups plain flour

¼ cup mixed peel

Method

• Beat eggs and sugar until creamy.

• Sift dry ingredients and stir in.

2 teaspoons cinnamon

¼ teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ cup almonds

• Blend in chopped nuts and mixed peel.

• Bake in moderate oven (160oC) for about 25-30 minutes.

• Cover with a thin frosting made of confectioners’ sugar and water before cake is cool.

• Cut into squares or oblongs. Keep for one week before serving (if you have enough self-control!).

• Freezes well in an good airtight container.

Source: Jewish Cookery in accordance with the Jewish Dietary Laws

by Leah W Leonard

RHONA’S GINGER CAKE FROM THE KITCHEN OF ADINA ROTH

This cake is an outstanding cake for Pesach but because of its honey content. It also doubles up as a delicious honey cake for Rosh Hashanah. It’s that good that it actually works as a non Pesach cake too. I got this recipe from one of my close friends in Johannesburg, Etti Shmukler. We have been friends since she was five years old. Her parents came from the USSR to South Africa (via Israel). As we begin our sojourn as new immigrants in Sydney, I often wonder back to how they managed in those early years. Etti is now a wonderful ballebosta in Johannesburg, and a doctor!

Ingredients

1 tea bag with 1 cup boiling water

6 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup oil

1 cup honey

2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

1¾ cup cake meal

1 cup potato starch

3 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Method

• Preheat oven to 175oC. Place tea bag into boiling water and allow to steep for ten minutes.

• Meanwhile, cream the eggs and sugar until light in colour.

• Beating continuously, add the oil, followed by the honey.

• Add the bicarbonate of soda to the tea and then add this to the egg mixture and continue to beat.

• Add the cake meal, potato starch, cinnamon and ginger and mix well.

• Pour the batter into a greased loaf tin and bake for 1 hour. When done, switch off and leave in oven for another 10 minutes.

• This also makes a wonderful chocolate cake. Simply replace the ginger and cinnamon with 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder.

POMEGRANATE ETON

MESS FROM THE KITCHEN OF KATIE NARUNSKY

This dessert is easy to whip up and tastes so good. The fluffy cream with crunchy meringues and little pomegranate seeds that are full of flavour is just so, so good. I have been making this recipe for years on Rosh Hashanah. Minimum effort, maximum taste and such a crowdpleaser.

Ingredients

170ml pomegranate juice

2 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoon powdered sugar

1 cup whipping cream

¼ cup pomegranate seeds

½ of a cup crushed meringues or more to your taste

Method

• In a small pan, place the pomegranate juice and sugar.

• Simmer for approximately 10 minutes to create a sauce.

• Transfer to a bowl and cool (if you prepare it in advance then save in the fridge until using).

• Add powdered sugar and crush the meringues into rough pieces.

• Fold the crushed meringues and pomegranate seeds into the whipped cream.

• Transfer a dollop of the cream mixture to a serving bowl.

• Drizzle the sauce on it and add more meringues and pomegranate seeds for garnish.

Source: https://renanas.kitchen/pomegranate-eton-mess/#recipe

With grateful thanks to Emanuel School grandparents, parents and staff who shared their precious family recipes with us.

Artwork by Poppy, Year 5