Savory Sweet Potato and Leek Tsimmis

While we're on the topic of Jewish foods, another classic Jewish dish - although perhaps not one quite as ubiquitous as kugel - is called tsimmis. Tsimmis is a sweet potato dish traditionally made with dried fruits and spices, and while it can be prepared either on the stovetop or in the oven, it is rather like a Jewish sweet potato casserole, sans marshmallows (although one year when I was a child my mother did fix tsimmis with marshmallows, and it was so sweet we had it for dessert instead of during the meal!)

My family always fixed tsimmis for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, as sweet potatoes are another one of the symbolic foods traditionally eaten during the new year's celebratory meal. The general Hebrew word for both pumpkins and sweet potatoes is "kraa," which is actually part of the word "yikara," which translates to "to be called out." Thus, sweet potatoes (or pumpkins or other winter squashes) are selected for the Rosh Hashanah meal as part of a prayer for each of our personal, inherent positive traits to be "called out," accentuated, and enhanced during the coming year. This year, since Zach isn't too fond of very sweet dishes during the main meal, I decided to experiment with a savory version of tzsimmis, incorporating leeks, one of my favorite ingredients for any dish, which also happens to be yet another symbolic Rosh Hashanah food! Leeks are also chosen as a special New Year's vegetable because of another linguistic parallel - the Hebrew word for leek, "karti," sounds much like the word "yikartu," which means "to be cut off," and leeks are therefore sampled in the hopes that all pain and suffering will cease, and be "cut off," in the new year.

I was a bit concerned that the somewhat unusual pairing of leeks and mashed sweet potatoes would go awry, but we were delighted to discover that the sweet potatoes highlighted the natural sweetness of the leeks perfectly, without being too sweet for Zach's palate! Success!

May all suffering cease across the globe... and may we only have goodness and peace...

Savory Sweet Potato and Leek Tsimmis

2 leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced

1 T olive oil

2/3 cup vegetable broth

2 large sweet potatoes, cooked (I simply pop them in the microwave...)

1 T rosemary

3 T breadcrumbs

3 T finely grated parmesan cheese (optional - leave out the parmesan for the vegan version! :-)

~ In a small skillet over medium heat, saute the leeks in the olive oil until they are limp and are just beginning to brown.

~ Pour in the broth and quickly deglaze the pan, then remove the pan from the heat.

~ Cut the cooked sweet potatoes into large chunks, skin and all (if you are a purest when it comes to the smoothness of mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes you can remove the skin, but I always leave the skins on everything - too much fiber and nutrition to pass up!).

~ Toss the sweet potato skins into a large bowl, along with the leeks and their broth. Mash the sweet potatoes until the mixture is nice and creamy.

~ Add the rosemary, breadcrumbs, and parmesan cheese (feel free to leave out the parmesan for a vegan dish), and whip a bit with a fork to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper...

~ If you need to reheat the dish, it does so beautifully in a 350 degree oven... Just make sure you serve it nice and warm!