Sukkot Feature (1): Festive Recipes Bring Warmth to Week of Fall Outdoor Dining

Sukkot means “booths,” as in the temporary housing in which our ancestors lived while wandering for 40 years in the desert.

Many families erect sukkahs today that are big enough for the whole family to enjoy eating meals under the stars during the seven-day holiday. Sukkot coincides with harvest time, so fruits and vegetables are traditionally served as symbols of the harvest.

The air may be chilly and crisp at this time of year, so the menu of stuffed cabbage in rich tomato sauce and rice or orzo should be brought to the table in covered dishes so that it will remain piping hot. A mixed vegetable salad with a choice of greens and a wonderful apple pie for dessert will make this a very satisfying and festive meal.

Stuffed Cabbage

(Can double the recipe and cook a day ahead. It improves with age and freezes very well.)

1 head cabbage

1 pound ground meat; beef or turkey

4 tablespoons uncooked rice

4 tablespoons grated onion

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 28 oz. can tomatoes

1 can tomato soup

1/4 cup white raisins

juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 medium onion, sliced

1 16 oz. can sauerkraut (optional)

Cut a wedge from the core of the cabbage. Place cabbage in a large pot of boiling water with the core side down. Simmer until the leaves begin to separate, and pull off 12 large leaves.

Put them back into the water for about a minute, until slightly soft. Lift out the leaves and cut away the thick part of each leaf.

In a mixing bowl, mix meat, rice, grated onion, ketchup, egg, salt and pepper. Put one-twelfth of meat mixture on each leaf, fold in the sides and roll up like an envelope.

In a small bowl, mix together tomatoes, tomato soup, lemon juice and sugar. Shred remaining cabbage and line a shallow casserole or roasting pan with cabbage, sauerkraut and onion slices. Spoon in half the tomato mixture, then the filled cabbage rolls. Pour on the remaining tomato mixture, cover and bake in a 350-degree oven for 1 hour.

Uncover carefully, add raisins, baste and bake 2 more hours, basting occasionally.

Apple Streusel Pie

Bottom Crust:

1 1/2 cups flour

6 tablespoons margarine

1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine and pat in bottom and sides of a 9- to 10-inch pie plate.

Filling:

5 cups chopped, peeled, pared apples

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine and spoon into lined pie plate.

Topping:

1/2 cup margarine

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup flour

Cream margarine and sugar until fluffy. Cut in flour until lumps form. Sprinkle over top of pie. Bake in a 375-degree oven for 55 minutes.

Naomi Arbit, a syndicated food writer, is the co-author of seven cookbooks, a former cooking instructor and a member of the International Association of Cooking Professionals. She lives in Bayside, Wisc.