By Tori Avey, The Shiksa in the Kitchen
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, begins this week. What better way to celebrate the holiday than with a sweetly symbolic beverage - Rosh Hashanah Sangria! This delightful drink is tasty, refreshing, and visually lovely. It will make a beautiful presentation on your Rosh Hashanah table. It's also a fun way to discuss the symbolism of the holiday with your guests, because it includes many traditional Rosh Hashanah ingredients.
When creating this recipe, I wanted to include as much holiday symbolism as possible. It's a sweet beverage (in honor of a sweet new year) decorated by fresh fruit-- apples, honey, pomegranates and grapes. During Rosh Hashanah, we eat apples dipped in honey to symbolize our hope for a sweet year to come. We eat pomegranates to symbolize "new fruit" (the first of the season), as a representation of the 613 mitzvot (the fruit has 613 seeds), and to remind ourselves that our good deeds in the coming year should be plentiful. Round foods (like grapes) are also part of the holiday; they represent the cyclical nature of the year and the continuity of Creation.
This sangria is bold and delicious. My favorite part of the drink is the little pomegranate seeds; they burst on the tongue, releasing a delicious juice. Prepare the sangria a few hours ahead of time so it has a chance to chill and marinate in the refrigerator. The fruit will soak up the drink and the flavors will develop over time. It goes down very easily... you've been warned!
To keep the sangria cold during your meal, you might want to buy some Prepara Ice Molds. They’ll allow you to keep your drink chilled without diluting it. Serve the sangria in heavy wine glasses that are solid enough to match its bold, robust flavor. Libbey Sociable glasses would work well. Allow a few pieces of fruit to flow into each glass for a pretty presentation.
If you like your sangria less sweet and more on the tart side, you can leave out the triple sec and cut the honey in half. For a sparkly sangria, add 2 cups of ginger ale to the mix and stir just prior to serving.
Cheers to a sweet new year!
For step-by-step photos of this recipe, click here.
ROSH HASHANAH SANGRIA
Ingredients
½ cup honey
1 pomegranate
1 apple, cored and sliced thin
10 oz. seedless grapes
1 bottle of red wine (syrah/shiraz)
2 cups pure 100% pomegranate juice
1 cup grape juice
¼ cup brandy
¼ cup triple sec
You will also need: 2.2 liter pitcher (or larger), heavy wine glasses
Serves 6-8
Kosher Key: Pareve
Pour honey and ½ cup water into a small saucepan. Heat over medium, stirring constantly, till the honey is completely dissolved into the water. Do not boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool. This is your honey simple syrup.
Meanwhile, seed the pomegranate. Discard the rind and pith. For instructions, click here.
Place the pomegranate seeds, apple slices, and grapes into the bottom of your pitcher. Pour the entire bottle of red wine into the pitcher over the fruit. Add the pomegranate juice, grape juice, brandy, triple sec, and honey simple syrup to the pitcher. Stir gently to blend all the flavors together.
Place pitcher into the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours before serving. This will allow the flavors to blend. Stir again before serving.
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