Stuffed Vegetables

Eating stuffed vegetables on Sukkot is common among Jews of many culinary traditions. Reflecting the agricultural roots of the holiday, the colorful, fat vegetables, plump to bursting with lush, savory fillings, celebrate the glorious abundance of the harvest. And on a spiritual level, the rounded, seamless parcels embody the continuity of the Torah, the reading of which is both finished and recommenced each year on Simchat Torah, the last day of Sukkot.

What follows is a medley for a variety of tastes: stuffed cabbage, autumn-scented with wild mushrooms and meat; roasted red peppers filled with mujadderah, a mix of well-seasoned fried onions, lentils, rice, and pine nuts, in a garlic-tomato sauce; and substituting for grape leaves, fresh chard, packed with rice and artichokes.