Simple/complex flavour of our relationship with God
ON THE first ever Rosh Hashanah, the first ever sin was committed: Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge. How incredible that our first sin was connected to food! Food that sustains us and nourishes us. Without it, we face hunger, disease, starvation and, ultimately, death. On the other hand, too much food and we face gluttony, hedonism and sacrifice our health.
The Torah is a book about relationships. Between man and his Maker; between man and his fellow man, between man and time; between man and space; and between man and food. Our relationship with food is complex and never more so than during the Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur period.
On Rosh Hashanah, we indulge and on Yom Kippur we fast. The Torah warns of extremes and yet it seems like our holidays encourage us to indulge.
Rabbi Moshe Weinberger of the Aish Kodesh community in Woodmere, NY, explains that it is a balancing act. On Rosh Hashanah we seek to get closer to God. We dip challah/ bread in honey. The very simplest of food — bread — into one of the most complex — honey. That is who we are as people: the simple combined with the complex. That is our relationship with God.
How simple would it have been to avoid the Tree of Knowledge, just walk away and eat from absolutely anything else in the garden. Yet as people, that is not who we are. We move closer to and further from God at every moment in a delicate balancing act. On Rosh Hashanah we use the tangible, the food, to symbolise our requests and wishes for the year to come. Every food is imbued with symbolism and memory. And yet, on Yom Kippur, we completely cut ourselves off from food, letting go of our physical selves and standing before God with no symbol, no aid, just bare.
Judaism is complex and that is what makes it wonderful and fulfilling; our food has so much more meaning than just something lovely to put on the table. We have included recipes that have been handed down the generations that we hope you will love, incorporating the traditional symbols of apples, pomegranates, beetroots, carrots, black eyed peas, green beans, spinach, dates and fatty meats. Wishing you a year filled with health, happiness and good taste.
MOROCCAN STYLE APRICOT CHICKEN
To us this is what apricot chicken should taste like — the sweetness of apricot combined with the aromas and flavour of Morocco — be prepared though, make it once and it will become a family favourite!
INGREDIENTS
2½ tsp sweet paprika 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp ground cinnamon 2 whole chickens, each cut into 8 pieces and trimmed of excess fat
Salt and ground black pepper
2 tsp olive oil
2 large onions, halved and cut into¼in slices (about 3 cups)
8 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 5 tsp)
830ml (3½ cups) chicken broth
2 tbsp honey
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut crosswise into thin ‘coins’
285 g (1½ cups) dried apricots, halved
2 x 400g cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice, from 2 lemons
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves
METHOD
Combine spices in small bowl and set aside. Season both sides of chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat until very hot. Brown chicken pieces skin side down in a single layer until deep golden in colour, about 5 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken pieces and brown on second side, about 4 minutes more. You will need to do this in batches.
Add onions to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions softened, about 10 minutes.
Add garlic and stir, about 30 seconds. Add spices, stirring constantly, until darkened and very fragrant, 45 seconds to 1 minute.
Stir in broth and honey, scraping bottom of pot with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits. Add thighs and drumsticks, reduce heat to medium.
Add carrots, apricots, and breast pieces (with any accumulated juices) to pot, arranging breast pieces in single layer on top of carrots.
Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until chicken breast is cooked through (either cut through one to check that all pink is gone, or use a meat thermometer).
Add chickpeas to pot; increase heat to medium-high and simmer until liquid has thickened slightly.
You can make the whole dish up to this point the day before you serve it, in fact it tastes even better when reheated.
Just before serving, reheat chicken if it has been made in advance, add coriander and lemon juice; stir to combine and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
Serve immediately.