Simanim Board for Rosh Hashana

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Today, on her newest series Gourmet Made Simple, chef Gitty Rappoport demonstrates a colorful, vibrant simanim board complete with seasonal fruits and vegetables and a whole roasted fish.

Tradition has it that on Rosh Hashana, we eat symbolic foods to help ensure a sweet, successful new year. Carrots, also known as “mehren” in Yiddish, which translates to more, symbolize our desire for increased blessings in the new year. The Hebrew word for beets, selek, is similar to the word for “remove”. They’re eaten in the hope that our enemies will be removed. The word for leeks is related to the word kareis, to cut, and symbolizes that those who wish to hurt us will instead be cut away. And of course, a fish head is traditionally eaten to symbolize that we be like the “head” and not like the tail.

In Gitty’s latest recipe, she takes all these traditional simanim and combines them on a beautiful, delicious board. The colorful beets get roasted, the heirloom carrots are drizzled with silan, date honey, and the leeks are roasted to silky perfection. A whole, fresh red snapper is stuffed with herbs and cara cara oranges and takes center stage on the board, topped with sweet pomegranate seeds, another siman.

This stunning board is sure to be the centerpiece of your holiday table and is just the way to ring in the new year. Shana tova to all!