The New Year of the Trees
They were precious gifts of my childhood: beautiful, florid certificates announcing that in my honor a tree had been planted in Israel. I imagined my very own forest with my name engraved on a plaque by each nascent seedling. One day I would travel to Israel to visit my trees.
This month, on the heels of the secular New Year, we celebrate Tu B’Shvat, the New Year of the Trees, which begins at sundown on Wednesday, February 12. One of four New Years Jews celebrate (we do love to party!), Tu B’Shvat is considered a “minor” holiday, yet has a long and interesting history, and, for Jewish cooks, is laden with delicious possibilities.
Tu B’Shvat translates to the 15th day of the month of Shvat. But why do we celebrate this agricultural festival in the dead of winter? In ancient times in Israel the holiday marked the end of the rainy season and thus closed the fiscal year for calculating taxes, the tithes (“bikkurim” or “first fruits”) offered to the priests. With the destruction of the Temple and the exile, with none of our own fruit to tithe, the holiday went into dormancy, only to bloom again centuries later when Talmudic rabbis used it to calculate the age of fruit-bearing trees and thus the proper date of harvest. After the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, kabbalists in Safed infused the holiday with mystical significance.
For early Zionists Tu B’Shvat became a sort of Arbor Day as trees were planted, forests revived and earth revitalized. With the environmental movements beginning in the 1970s, the holiday has become a Jewish Earth Day, stressing the rebuilding of our fragile planet and protection of our precious resources. It is a time to remember our duty to engage in Tikkun Olam, or healing the earth, the commandment to protect G-d’s creation and care for our environment, a notion that has been central to Jewish teaching for thousands of years.
Sure, we recycle and carry our groceries in reusable bags. But are we shopping locally and seasonally? Where has that bounty of produce come from? And what foreign unpronounceables have hitched a ride? Strolling down the supermarket produce aisle, one would hardly know that seasons exist, with fruits and vegetables traveling to us from all over the world. But at the farmers markets, and more and more some supermarkets, where organic produce is sold you will find seasonal fruits and vegetables that haven’t racked up those frequent flyer miles.
It is customary to plan a Tu B’Shvat menu around the Seven Species (“Shivat Haminim”), the grains and fruits named in the Torah (Deuteronomy 8:8), which were staples of our ancient ancestors: wheat, barley, grapes (and wine), figs, pomegranates, olives (and olive oil) and dates. Note: The Bible actually refers to honey as the seventh specie, meaning palm date honey, not honey produced by bees. Throughout the centuries, dates were boiled into a thick, long-lasting syrup, “devash” (honey) in Hebrew. Some communities observe a Tu B’Shvat Seder (who can wait for Passover!), which includes the drinking of four cups of wine and readings from various Jewish sources. (Many websites, such as myjewishlearning.com or aish.com, provide a guide to conducting your own Tu B’Shvat Seder.)
Bread would be the obvious choice for including wheat – and, to quote Seinfeld, not that there’s anything wrong with that—but the serving of couscous, popular in the Mediterranean since the Middle Ages, seems most appropriate for this holiday. (Substitute bulgur for the couscous, if you like.)
Israeli couscous, also known as pearl couscous, “p’titim,” originated in Israel in the 1950s when rice was in short supply and a substitute was needed. It is produced by mixing semolina or wheat flour with water. An extruder then turns the dough into small, uniform balls. At this point the pasta balls are toasted in the oven, adding flavor and color. Since Israeli couscous is larger than regular couscous, it is boiled rather than steamed, imparting a chewy texture and nutty flavor. As with other pastas, bring a pot of water to a boil before you add Israeli couscous. How long you cook it depends on your desired texture. Eight to nine minutes should suffice for al dente Israeli couscous. Then drain.
The pomegranate has been revered since Biblical times as a symbol of fertility, good health and immortality. Celebrated by King Solomon in the Song of Songs, this tangy, many-seeded fruit with its crimson-hued, leathery shell was abundant in the Garden of Eden and is even thought by some scholars to have been the real “apple” that tempted Eve. The seeds of the pomegranate supposedly add up to 613, which represent the mitzvot (good deeds) of the Torah, but I doubt that anyone has tried to count them! Remove the seeds under water and save your clothes. Or do what I do—let Melissa’s Produce seed them for you. Their pomegranate arils are available year-round.
Pomegranates, plentiful as fall begins, can also be enjoyed throughout the year as pomegranate molasses, which Laura Frankel, author of “Jewish Slow Cooker Recipes” (Wiley, $33.49), calls her “secret weapon.”
“Pomegranate molasses corrects any kind of issues I’m having with a sauce,” she told me. “If it’s too spicy or tart, it will fill in the cracks. It gives fish, chicken or meat that glazy finish and looks beautiful and shiny. Now if they only had pomegranate lipstick!”
Israeli Couscous Salad
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
For the salad:
1 package (8 ounces) Israeli couscous
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 or 2 medium-size carrots, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 red or yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 cup frozen peas, thawed and drained
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2/3 cup diced dried dates, dried apricots, or raisins
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup chopped cilantro or mint
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons orange juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher (coarse) salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1. Prepare couscous according to package directions, adding oil to the water. Transfer to a large bowl. Cool completely, stirring occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, whisk the dressing ingredients together in a bowl.
3. Combine the cooled couscous with the remaining salad ingredients. Add the dressing and toss well. Add salt and pepper if needed. Cover, and chill at least 2 hours or overnight.
4. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.
Source: Adapted from “Cooking Jewish” (Workman) by Judy Bart Kancigor
Pomegranate-Glazed Chicken
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Pomegranate molasses (also called “paste” or “concentrate”) can be found in Middle Eastern markets or at www.sadaf.com.
2 chickens, about 4 pounds each, cut into 6 pieces each, on the bone
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
For the glaze:
Olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
1/2 cup pomegranate molasses
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup dark chicken stock
Suggested garnishes:
Fresh pomegranate seeds
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
2. Heat a large, deep sauté pan over medium-high heat, and lightly coat bottom of pan with olive oil. Brown chicken pieces on all sides, in batches, without crowding. When pieces are well browned (drumsticks and thighs will take longer than breast and wing pieces), transfer white and dark meat pieces to two separate baking dishes.
3. Make Glaze: Heat a small saucepan over medium-high heat, and lightly coat bottom of pan with olive oil. Sauté garlic and shallot until lightly browned. Add pomegranate molasses, sugar, tomato paste and stock. Lower heat to medium and cook, stirring, until well combined and glaze has thickened, about 10 minutes.
4. Brush chicken pieces with pomegranate glaze, and roast until cooked through and a thermometer inserted into thigh registers 160°F, 30 to 35 minutes for white meat and about 45 minutes for dark meat. Brush chicken with glaze halfway through cooking and again when removed from oven.
5. Serve chicken sprinkled with your choice of garnishes.
Source: “Jewish Cooking for All Seasons” (Wiley) by Laura Frankel
Jlife Food Editor Judy Bart Kancigor is the author of “Cooking Jewish” (Workman) and “The Perfect Passover Cookbook” (an e-book short from Workman), a columnist and feature writer for the Orange County Register and other publications and can be found on the web at
www.cookingjewish.com.