Recipe: Beet and Pomegranate Salad

Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, begins this Friday at sundown. And if you are tired of the same old sweet dishes like tzimmes, apples, and honey cake, you might want to look to the East…to Israel, that is, where the influences of Jews from around the world meld into a Middle Eastern culinary melting pot. We’ll be adding this beet and pomegranate salad from celebrated Israeli baker and chef Erez Komarovski to our holiday menu. Komarovski created an artisanal bread revolution in Israel with his chain of bakeries called Lehem Erez—they continue, but he no longer owns them. Now he spends a large part of his time in self-exile on a beautiful hillside in the Upper Galilee near the Lebanon border teaching, inventing, and cooking dishes that draw on the local produce and his vast gardens. Pomegranates are part of the Israeli Rosh Hashana tradition, signifying a sweet, fruitful year. For other Israeli Rosh Hashana specialities, check out this new food newsletter from Janna Gur, the editor of Israel’s most popular food magazine, Al Hashulchan. (Photo by Adam Sachs)