Recipes: Carrot Pineapple Salad, Fennel Salad with Dates & Blue Cheese, Potato Tomato Salad with Pesto, Cranberry Jalapeño Dip, Butternut Squash Soup, Savory Vegetable Tart, Fruit Crisp
Tu B’Shvat begins Sunday evening, February 1, and goes through sundown Monday, February 2.
Rabbis in 16th century Tzfat, Israel, created the Tu b’Shvat seder we know today. Using the Passover seder as a model, they use symbolic foods to tell a story and teach lessons, which I will explain. But, please, humor me as I present some additional foods that can be interpreted as symbolic with lessons to offer.
The rabbis talk about three categories of fruits, each with different characteristics. Each represents a season of the year and a phase of our journey as humans, our relationship with God, and our deep connection to the land.
But historically, in colder climates, we would not have had access to much fresh produce at this time of year. For the traditional symbols, we might have eaten dried or jarred fruit or maybe preserves. But we would have had a cellar filled with root vegetables.
It occurred to me that root vegetables can also be divided into three categories. Some we usually eat raw (like radishes), some should never be eaten raw (like potatoes), but most of them can be eaten cooked or raw (like carrot). From this, we learn that we must be flexible to fully realize our relationship with others, with ourselves, and with God.
Traditionally, we represent Winter with fruits that have an inedible outer skin or shell and a soft, edible inside, such as pineapple, coconut, banana, and nuts. In nature, seeds and roots quietly develop underground, hidden under a harsh wet, or frozen blanket. Animals grow heavy with their young, protected within, who will be born in the spring. The shell that protects also conceals. We begin our journey with our divine spark hidden and protected deep inside.
Root vegetables grow and hide underground. While their pretty, above-ground, summertime cousins bloom with flowers and colorful vegetables, root veggies grow quietly out of sight, sending up only nourishing greens to be seen. This teaches about the diversity of people. Some people bloom loudly and brightly, embracing interaction with others. Others think more quietly. They need time and reach out modestly, until they’re ready to engage. Neither approach is better than the other. That’s the lesson.
As we bloom into Spring, traditionally we eat fruits with edible skin and an inedible pit, such as olives, dates, and plums. We realize that, despite our interaction with people and the world around us, we often withhold our true, best selves, even from our closest family and friends, and sometimes from ourselves. We are still concealed, deep inside, protecting our divine spark within.
Root vegetables are also concealed, waiting to reveal themselves. Roots come in many colors, shapes, and sizes, too, but you don’t see them until late in the season when they are harvested. We are reminded that beauty and the holy sparks of creation can exist anywhere and in unexpected places.
As Summer approaches, the land grows warmer, and the colors of the fruits deepen as they ripen. We eat fruits that are soft throughout and can be eaten whole, such as berries, figs, and tomatoes. We are reminded to open ourselves up, to find and love our own divine spark, and to look for the spark in others.
We finish the seder and the year with Autumn, the season of full bloom and maturity of the bountiful harvest before the cold winter. We drink a fourth cup of wine without any additional fruit.
Root vegetables are hearty to survive the cold winter. Green beans, tomatoes, zucchini, and all the other summer vegetables require some sort of processing to be preserved through the harsh winter. They can be salted, dried, pickled, fermented, canned, and nowadays, frozen. But the humble root vegetable needs only to be packed into wooden boxes with dirt, sand, or hay and stored in a cool, dark cellar. Their example teaches us about quiet strength and resilience as we open ourselves fully to our own divine spark and the spark in others.
As we symbolically pass through the seasons, we change with each one. We strive to become strong, like healthy trees, with solid roots in the ground and our arms open to the love that is all around us.
What About the Menu?
The traditional symbolic foods offer a colorful palette that encourages creativity in your menu. A selection of root vegetables adds heartiness to your seder meal.
I developed this fun menu that incorporates all three types of fruits and roots.
Winter Course – Fruits with inedible outer skin or shell and a soft, edible inside AND Raw Root Vegetables
Mixed Nuts, Carrot Pineapple Salad, Mixed Radishes with Salt
Spring Course – Fruits with edible skin & an inedible pit AND Root Vegetables that can be eaten raw or cooked
Marinated Olives, Fennel Salad with Dates & Blue Cheese, Bread or Rolls
Summer Course – Fruits that are soft throughout and can be eaten whole AND Root Vegetables that must be cooked (never eaten raw)
Potato Tomato Salad with Pesto, Cranberry Jalapeño Dip
Autumn Main Course – Bountiful Harvest Produce
Butternut Squash Soup, Savory Vegetable Tart with Green Herb Salad, Fresh Fruit Crisp with apples and pears.
You can use pre-shredded carrots for this if you don’t want to grate your own. On the other hand, you can use diced fresh pineapple if you don’t like the can.
If you use pre-shredded carrots, canned pineapple, and pre-chopped pecans, this recipe will come together in less than five minutes. And you can make this a day ahead; in fact, it might even be better on the second day. If you want to reduce the sugar in this salad, look for unsweetened coconut. If liquid collects in the bottom of the bowl, mix it in before serving.
Ingredients
For the Salad
1 LB carrots, peeled & shredded
1 20-oz can, crushed pineapple, drained well
½ C shredded coconut
½ C pecans, chopped
For the Dressing
½ C mayonnaise
2 TBSP white vinegar
1 TBSP white sugar
1 TBSP celery seeds (optional)
Directions
- Peel carrots and shred on the large side of a box grater.
- In a large bowl, toss carrots, pineapple, and pecans.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the mayo, vinegar, sugar, and celery seeds if using. Taste. The dressing should be sweet and tart.
- Add the dressing to the carrot bowl and mix until combined.
For the other recipes, click the name for a link directly to that recipe on my website, FoodyFunKosher.com.
Fennel Salad with Dates & Blue Cheese
Potato Tomato Salad with Pesto
Savory Vegetable Tart (Link coming soon)