Recipes For A Vegan Rosh Hashana & Much More!

Since I am a Long Island Princess, I feel that it is my duty to give you some recipe suggestions for the Jewish New Year. I tried to pick foods which will not only bring color to your table, but will be delicious for this sweet holiday.

For more links to great holiday recipes, click on Vegan Rosh Hashanah Recipes: From Soup to Strudel

For starters, may I suggest a wonderful soup such as my favorite classic vegan mushroom barley soup or any of the other soups found in the “Soups” section of the “Recipes” category on this site.

As a main dish, you may be interested in this Seitan Brisket which I found on the website Made Just Right. I have not made it yet, but I love the idea of replacing a traditional brisket with one made of seitan.

SEITAN BRISKET FOR A VEGAN ROSH HASHANA

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium onions, sliced vertically
• 2 medium carrots, sliced into 1-inch pieces
• 2 celery stalks, chopped roughly
• 1/2 Tablespoon tamari
• 15 oz. seitan, sliced
• freshly ground pepper

Gravy:

• 1 3/4 cups vegetarian stock
• 3/4 cup grape juice or fruity red wine
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• freshly grated black pepper
• 3 Tablespoons Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread
• 1/4 cup unbleached flour
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt to taste

Glaze:

• 1 1/2 Tablespoons miso paste
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons grape juice or fruity red wine
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons brown sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Add oil, onions, carrots, celery, and tamari to a heavy baking dish. Stir to coat the veggies and then roast for 40 minutes.
2. Remove dish from oven and distribute seitan on top of veggies. Combine stock, juice/wine, brown sugar, and caraway seeds and pour over seitan and veggies. Grind black pepper over top, cover tightly with foil, and return to oven. Bake an additional 40 minutes.
3. Remove pan, uncover, and ladle out as much of the cooking broth as possible into a large liquid measuring cup. Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 3 minutes. Slowly whisk in reserved cooking broth, and stir constantly until smooth and thick, 2-3 minutes. If you don’t have enough broth left, add stock to substitute. Stir in half the garlic. Spread sauce onto the seitan, stirring to blend. Add salt to taste.
4. Raise oven temperature to broil. Prepare the glaze by whisking the juices/wine, brown sugar, miso, and remaining garlic together. Spoon the glaze over the seitan. Return to the oven and broil, uncovered, until bubbling hot and deeply browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Serve hot.

If you are not interested in seitan as a main dish, may I suggest this amazing tofu spinach lasagna from the wonderful cookbook “The Vegan Table” by Collen Patrick-Goudreau. Although a vegan lasagna does not scream “Rosh Hashana,” I often use it as a main dish on holidays because it is satisfying and delicious. I love this particular recipe from The Vegan Table and I make it all the time.

TOFU SPINACH LASAGNA

Ingredients:

• 1/2 to 1 pound lasagna noodles (I use brown rice lasagna noodles)
• 2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 package (16 ounces) firm tofu (not silken)
• 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar (optional)
• 1/4 cup non-dairy milk, or as needed
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 peeled garlic cloves
• Juice from 1/2 lemon (about 2 Tablespoons)
• 2 Tablespoons minced fresh basil (about 20 leaves)
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 4 to 6 cups tomato or pasta sauce of your choice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook lasagna noodles according to directions (for the record, I do not care for the “no boil” lasagna noodles, but you can opt to use them). Drain and set aside.
2. Squeeze as much water from spinach as possible and set aside.
3. Place tofu, sugar (if using), milk, garlic powder, lemon juice, basil, and salt in a blender or food processor until smooth. The tofu “ricotta” should be creamy but still have body.
4. Transfer to a large-size bowl, and stir in spinach. Continue tasting until you get amount of salt just right.
5. Cover bottom of 9 x 13 inch baking dish with a thin layer of tomato sauce, then a layer of noodles (use about one-third of noodles). Follow with half the tofu filling. Continue in the same order, using half the remaining tomato sauce and noodles, and all remaining tofu filling. End with remaining noodles, covered by remaining tomato sauce. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, until hot and bubbling.
6. Note: For more cheesiness, I often add Daiya shredded mozzarella cheese to each layer.

 

As a side dish, let me suggest this colorful Roasted Broccoli With Cherry Tomatoes Recipe which I found on the Food Network’s website. The original recipe called for grated Parmesan, but I omitted it from my recipe and it was still delicious. You could also sprinkle the dish with vegan parmesan, if you wish.

ROASTED BROCCOLI WITH CHERRY TOMATOES

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches broccoli, cut into 2 1/2 inch long florets
• 1 medium shallot
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, whole
• 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4 Tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Vegan Parmesan, sprinkled as desired (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Add broccoli to a large bowl. Add the shallots, cherry tomatoes, garlic and red pepper flakes with 4 tablespoons oil in large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat and spread onto large baking sheet. Roast until the stems are tender-crisp and lightly golden brown, about 18 minutes. Sprinle vegan parmesan over broccoli, if you wish.

 

What is Rosh Hashana without the traditional Carrot and Sweet Potato Tzimmes? I’ve made the following recipe many times and it is quite good. I found it on one of my favorite websites Veg Kitchen which was founded by the wonderful vegan cookbook author, Nava Atlas. If my suggested recipes for the holiday don’t strike your fancy, I highly suggest that you go straight to Veg Kitchen because no one does vegan holidays better than Nava!

CARROT AND SWEET POTATO TZIMMES

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 3 large carrots, sliced
• 3 large sweet potatoes, cooked or microwaved in their skins, then peeled and sliced
• 1 large apple or pear, cored and sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped prunes
• 1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon each: ground ginger and salt
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Saute the onions over medium heat until they are translucent. Add the carrots and continue to saute until onions and carrots are golden.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the onion-carrot mixture with all the remaining ingredients except walnuts. Mix thoroughly; don’t worry if the potato slices break apart.
4. Transfer the mixture to a large, oiled, shallow baking dish (a round or oval is attractive). Sprinkle the optional walnuts over the top. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the top begins to turn slightly crusty.

For dessert, what about my favorite vegan chocolate cake, carrot cake with vanilla frosting “in-a-jiffy” or one of the other desserts listed under the “desserts” section of my “Recipe” category on this website?

 For more recipes with a Jewish flair and tradition or just great for holidays, check out these links:

Vegan Rosh Hashanah Recipes: From Soup to Strudel

A Yummy Break-the-Fast Yom Kippur Menu

5 Essential Vegan Soup Recipes for Fall & Winter

Toasty Veggie Kasha & the Benefits of Buckwheat

Cauliflower Steaks Topped with Savory Quinoa and Caramelized Onions

Are You Mocking My Mock Tuna Salad?

6 Awesomely Delicious, Healthier Brownie Recipes

The Wonders of Mushroom Lasagna

Savory Vegan No-Soy Lasagna

Hope these recipes come in handy and share with us your thoughts!

 

Have a sweet and wonderful New Year!

xox Debby & Ellen