Recipes to Say Shana Tova from Nosh with Tash
To celebrate Rosh Hashanah, we teamed up with culinary school dropout-turned-chef and cooking show host Natasha Feldman of Nosh with Tash. This is special: Tash let’s us in on her very own family brisket recipe, which was passed down from her grandmother to her mother to her.
What is a special memory you have from Rosh Hashanah?
I have a very small, but really wonderful family, and when we’re all together there are about 13 of us — just about the max amount of humans I can squish around my dining room table. So, a few years ago, I decided I wanted to host the holiday, it was the first time one of “the kids” hosted, and everyone said it was the best brisket they’d ever had, and that’s basically my greatest accomplishment of all time.
What is your personal mission?
I want people to take cooking a little less seriously, to embrace that sometimes dishes won’t turn out great, and that failure is the best way to eventually make something that you like. Just have fun with it.
What spices, herbs, or recipes remind you of home?
Paprika and dill. Easy!
What have you prepared today and what does it mean to you?
Today I’m sharing my family’s brisket recipe and my leftover brisket pasta. On Rosh Hashanah, we always have brisket, but brisket gets better the longer it rests. So the day after Rosh Hashanah is really the best. One year I decided I wanted to make a pasta out of the leftovers, and now I make brisket more times than I should admit throughout the year just for the pasta. It’s simple to throw together because all of the flavors already exist within the brisket. It’s a perfect meal.
All this brisket talk making you hungry? Scroll down for not one — but two! — special brisket recipes: one for the high holiday, and one for the leftovers. Let’s get cooking.
P.S. If you’re looking for something vegetarian for Rosh Hashanah, check out the cabbage rolls we made with Liz Alpern of Gefilteria.
Tash’s BYOB (Be Your Own Bubbe) Jewish Brisket
What You'll Need
Ingredients
- 5 pounds beef brisket
- 1 tbsp. kosher salt
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 carrots, cut into 2 inch rounds
- 2 celery sticks, cut into 3 inch pieces
- 1 onion, quartered leaving the root end intact
- 1 head of garlic, split horizontally
- 2 cups beef stock (or any stock you have on hand)
- 3/4 cup dried apricots
- 3/4 cup dried prunes
- 10 whole black peppercorns
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 cups red wine (a reasonably priced cabernet sauvignon is my favorite)
TO DO
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 300°F and heat your Perfect Pot on the stovetop over medium heat. Pat down the brisket with paper towels, cut it in half, and season it generously with the salt.
Step 2
Sear the brisket, one piece at a time, with the fat side down until it’s got a nice deep golden color about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the browned meat to a plate.
Step 3
Turn the heat on the stovetop down to medium-low and add the olive oil, followed by the carrots, celery, and onion. Saute for about 5 minutes until the onion is lightly browned, then add the garlic and cook for 3 more minutes. Add the stock and let it simmer for 5 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze it.
Step 4
Add the meat back to the pot, followed by the dried fruit, peppercorns, and bay leaves. Then, add the wine and cover with the lid, steam release closed. Roast in the oven for 6 hours. If you don’t cook this cut long enough, it won’t be tender.
Step 5
Remove the brisket from the oven and take off the lid, allowing the meat to cool before storing it in the fridge overnight.
Step 6
The next day preheat your oven to 350°F degrees. Remove the brisket from the fridge and slice against the grain into 1/2 inch slices. It’s much easier to cut without shredding it when it’s cold, and it’s also easier to trim off any excess fat this way.
Step 7
Add the brisket back into the Perfect Pot, nuzzling it below all the delicious dried fruit. Cook the meat, uncovered, for another 45 minutes or until it’s hot all the way through and lightly crisped at any visible edges. Then you’re ready to serve!
Tash’s Leftover Brisket Pasta
What You'll Need
Ingredients
1 pound dried pasta (I love rigatoni or reginetti)
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 1 tbsp. + 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 lb. mushrooms, torn or cut into bite-sized pieces
- 3 cups kale, stems removed and cut into 1 inch strips
- 2 cups brisket, torn into 1 inch pieces
- 1-2 cups brisket braising liquid
- 3 tbsp. reserved pasta water
- 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 2-4 tbsp. shaved parmesan
- 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
Directions
Step 1
Start by boiling water for your pasta. Grab your Perfect Pot, fill it halfway with water, and bring to a boil.
Step 2
Add the olive oil to your Always Pan, and set over medium-low heat. When simmering, add the onion and saute for 5 minutes.
Step 3
Once the onions are translucent, add the mushrooms and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Increase the heat to medium and stir occasionally until the mushrooms have reduced in size and all extra liquid is evaporated and absorbed, about 5-7 minutes.
Step 4
Add the kale and cook until it’s wilted, which should take another 5 minutes.
Step 5
Add the brisket and brisket liquid and cook for 3 minutes. Stir well and turn the heat back to a medium-low.
Step 6
Your pasta water should be rapidly boiling by now. Add the remaining tablespoon of salt to the water and toss in the pasta. Stir well and cook al dente per the instructions on the packaging.
Step 7
Once the pasta is al dente, reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water and put aside, then strain the pasta over the sink using the Perfect Pot’s lid straining feature. No need to rinse off the pasta!
Step 8
Add 2 tablespoons of the reserved pasta water to the Always Pan then add the pasta. Give it a really good stir to evenly distribute the sauce. Sample your sauce and if you’d like it to be saltier or saucier, add more pasta water to taste. Before serving the pasta add the lemon juice and give it another stir.
Step 9
Ladle into four Main Bowls, topping each bowl with a generous amount of parmesan and red pepper flakes, if desired!
