Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) begins tonight, and my family has already started celebrating. Our traditional Rosh Hashanah hike happened yesterday; tashlich and apple-picking happened today. When asked which night we wanted to do the “big” dinner, Raf (the youngest of us) responded, “I was hoping both would be a decent size.” And so we’re doing two Rosh Hashanah dinners, both complete with plenty of sweet flavors to encourage sweetness in the year ahead.
Traditionally, I’ve made cake-like desserts for Rosh Hashanah, like this Chocolate-Hazelnut Cake, Apples and Honey Cake, and Apple-Ricotta Tart. However, this year, I wanted something a bit simpler and more veggie centric. I also wanted to embrace the fall theme, since the leaves are just starting to change and some of my happiest moments have been seeing these bits of color floating through the air and landing gracefully on the grass, where I know they will soon be crunched underfoot, raked, and potentially jumped in. Oh, how I love fall!
So carrots it was. Isn’t it always carrots? The lovely yellow, purple, and orange medley of rainbow carrots reminded me of the changing leaves and the luscious foliage that is right around the corner. I roasted them whole, until very tender, and then topped them with what I’ve termed “essence of rugelach” – walnuts, raisins, cinnamon, and brown sugar. (What is rugelach, you ask? It’s a very traditional Jewish cookie often eaten at Rosh Hashanah, with a cream cheese dough rolled around the aforementioned walnut mixture.) While I initially confused my parents quite a bit – they apparently thought I was making rugelach OUT of carrots (maybe next year, guys), they came around in the end and agreed that the dessert did have a rugelach feeling to it. I hope you concur!
A couple notes about the recipe:
-The roasting and baking time may vary depending on your oven’s quirks and the size of your carrots.
-Be sure your coconut oil is refined, which means it has a neutral flavor. Unrefined coconut oil will taste coconuty.
-I couldn’t help adding a hint of garam masala (an Indian spice mix that contains cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, black pepper, and coriander) to help balance all the sweetness.
-These carrots are delicious on their own, but wouldn’t say no to some vegan or dairy yogurt, ice-cream, or – if you want to get more of the rugelach essence in there, homemade cream-cheese frosting.
-This recipe serves six.
Rugelach Carrots
- 3 pounds rainbow carrots, peeled and trimmed
- Refined coconut oil, for roasting
- ¼ cup firmly-packed dark brown sugar
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- 2 tablespoons raisins
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a sheet tray with parchment paper. Toss the carrots with coconut oil and roast them in a single layer until tender, about 35 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together the sugar, walnuts, raisins, cinnamon, and garam masala.
When the carrots are tender, remove from the oven and transfer to a greased casserole dish. (They no longer have to fit in a single layer.) Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over the top. Reduce the heat to 375°F and bake for about 15 minutes more.
Let cool slightly and serve warm.
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