Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins on Wednesday evening, Oct. 2. A favorite saying on Rosh Hashanah is “We should be heads and not tails,” which refers to a wish for success at school, at work and in general.
To allude to this motto, it’s customary to eat fish during the holiday’s ceremonial dinner and to serve it with its head on; in some households even a lamb’s or goat’s head is served. These days many people modify this tradition; friends of ours who used to follow this custom now serve fish fillets and display a drawing of a whole fish instead of the real thing. This year we’ll prepare our take on a New Orleans seafood boil that is classically made with shellfish as well as potatoes and corn.
We substitute tilapia, a kosher fish, and cook it as a sheet pan dinner with the same vegetables and the dish’s seasoning. “Have a good and sweet year!” is a popular greeting on the holiday. Several dishes in our Rosh Hashanah menu have touches of sweetness: Grapes in our chickpea and hearts of palm rice salad; peaches and plums in our green salad; and sweet tomatoes in our couscous and quinoa salad.
We’ll serve a healthy, fruity dessert too — mango and banana pudding topped with berries and Greek yogurt. To give it Rosh Hashanah flair, we’ll drizzle the fruit with honey. New Orleans Style Fish Baked with Potatoes and Corn Fish is traditional on Jewish New Year’s dinner menus.
We’re serving our kosher version of a Louisiana seafood boil, which w.