Whereas my regular method to the Jewish New Yr is to go massive or go residence — suppose brisket or pot roast, alongside the same old rooster soup, potato kugel, a grain salad and a decadent dessert or two — this time I’m planning on one thing completely different, one thing that’s reasonably priced and cooks in an inexpensive period of time; with easy-to-find elements and never lots of them, both. Bonus factors if it might probably transport me with one chunk.
Enter this unassuming braise of rooster with roasted peppers from Leah Koenig’s newest cookbook, “Portico: Cooking and Feasting in Rome’s Jewish Kitchen.” Because the title suggests, the recipes hail from the Roman Jewish culinary canon, which is marked by scrappy, humble elements with daring flavors.
Get the recipe: Rooster With Peppers
At first look, the dish seems to be too easy for a celebratory meal, however don’t let it idiot you — these elements come collectively in a flavorful and elegant braise.
You begin by roasting the peppers within the broiler till they’re charred throughout. Then, as soon as the peppers are cool, you slip off their skins, scrape out the seeds, and slice the peppers into lengthy silky strands. (In the event you’re quick on time, Koenig says you should utilize jarred store-bought peppers, which gained’t be fairly as lush, however will nonetheless ship good outcomes.)
Then you definitely transfer on to browning the rooster. You’ll most likely want to do that in two batches, even when you’ve got a big Dutch oven. (A splatter guard is your good friend right here.) As soon as the rooster is golden, set it apart and saute half of the roasted pepper strips, some garlic and the non-obligatory (however advisable) purple pepper flakes.
Slightly wine goes in to deglaze the pan and focus all of the tasty bits earlier than the canned tomatoes are added with a bit salt and pepper. Subsequent, you come back the rooster to the pot, gently nestling the items within the sauce, cowl the pot and braise all the pieces for 45 minutes. By then, the rooster can be tender and the deeply hued slurry of tomatoes and half-melted peppers will flip shiny and fragrant.
A brief simmer with no lid thickens the sauce only a contact, and that’s it. With a bathe of contemporary basil, the rooster and peppers make a placing dish that pairs fantastically with crusty bread for sopping up that velvety sauce.
Whereas Koenig suggests this braise for Shabbat, I feel it makes a perfect Rosh Hashanah important course, particularly as a result of the beginning of the Jewish New Yr falls on a Friday night this time.
I do know I’m not alone in feeling that it’s troublesome to plan for a vacation meal on the finish of the workweek. However this luscious dish feels particularly doable. In underneath two hours — even much less time if you happen to skip roasting the peppers and go the jarred route — you have got a festive important course, that whereas nontraditional within the context of Rosh Hashanah, will style comforting and acquainted.
My mother likes to say that the way you usher within the new yr is the way you’ll spend it, and she or he is likely to be onto one thing. So right here’s hoping that the minimalism and ease of this dish will set the tone for the yr to return, bringing with it nourishment and peace.
Get the recipe: Rooster With Peppers
