Jewish holiday meals tend to be rife with symbolic foods. For Rosh Hashanah (which begins the evening of Sunday, Sept. 25), depending on how one identifies, the list can get rather long. A few items prevail at almost every table, most notably apples and honey. While both symbolize many things, among them, apples signify beauty and hopes for prosperity and honey is a metaphor for the sweetness and wisdom of the Torah. Apple slices are dipped into honey (and eaten) to represent wishes that the coming year be sweet and prosperous. This ritual dipping usually takes place at the beginning of the holiday meal, and the apples and honey are often set aside in lieu of the coming feast. But why cast them aside? I like to use one or more symbolic foods in each dish I serve at a holiday dinner. I have focused on honey here, but one can do the same with any of the other symbolic foods that bring meaning to your meal.

For many Ashkenazi Jews, Rosh Hashanah — or any Jewish holiday — without honey cake is inconceivable. What makes this particular recipe magical is that you can make it a week in advance and let the flavors of the honey ripen — yes, like a fine wine! — (try a robust honey like acacia or chestnut) while you make your other holiday preparations.

Far from anything you may have called honey cake in the past, Honeyed Fig And Rye Cake With Brown Butter Frosting starts with a jammy honeyed fig filling sandwiched between two layers of cake made with rye flour. The whole thing is coated with a thin layer of nutty, brown butter frosting, and then topped with more of the fig puree. The frosting and fig jam together sweeten the otherwise no-sugar-added rye cake.

But if it’s not cake you are after, cool, creamy Apple And Honey Sorbet With Pomegranate Sauce with its floral cardamom notes is a delightful way to end a meal — the tart pomegranate sauce lending vibrant color and balancing the sweetness of the apples and honey. Enjoy it as is or alongside Pears In Pomegranate Wine With Honey And Lemon Thyme for a multifaceted, gluten-free dessert (do note that you should start on this recipe at least three days in advance). Crumbly and buttery Wildflower Honey Shortbread Bars can be served with the sorbet or with the pears. They are also a nice dipper for your morning coffee or tea. Honey’d Wine-Soaked Dates (another symbolic food, dates are said to be the honey in the phrase “the land of milk and honey,” a biblical reference to the land of Israel) are another bite-sized option for something to serve alongside the shortbreads.

Honey Challah is totally in the spirit of the occasion, but you may want to streamline the pre-meal rituals and go for an Apple And Honey Challah. It combines two ritual components — apple dipping and challah — into one, and it can free up some table space for other dishes. The four accompanying blessings can be recited without interruption and you may get to the main course a little more quickly.

With the ceremonial components of the meal out of the way, you can transition to Roast Chicken With Thyme And Honey, which is quite flavorful and deceptively simple to prepare. Halfway through the roasting, a honey-lemon, thyme-infused glazed is brushed on the chicken and caramelizes on the chicken and vegetables as they continue to roast. For a bit more savory of an entree, Chicken Thighs With Honey, Olives And Oregano is briny and earthy, reminiscent of Moroccan chicken with preserved lemon and olives only sweeter.

For the vegetarians at your table, Wild Arugula And Orange Salad With Baked Feta, Honey And Za’atar is a flavorful entree option that is also creamy delicious from the slightly heated feta. A Beet And Carrot “Slaw” With Honey And Cinnamon will add color to the plate as well as some crunch and the heady aroma of cinnamon. (Beets and carrots are also symbolic foods.)

Because Rosh Hashanah is a two-day holiday, you may want something breakfast-y to honor the spirit of the day. Honey-Chia Granola over a bowl of yogurt or labneh is a sweet but not-to-sweet way to start your day. Alternatively, Vending Machine Honey Buns will accompany an afternoon cup of coffee or tea just as well as your morning cup of Joe. Sweet, gooey and yum!

Julie Giuffrida is Test Kitchen coordinator for the Los Angeles Times.

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