Itti CI‘e
ete it iO Celebrate Shabbat With Healthy Cholent
By LESLYE MICHLIN BORDEN
Jewish homemakers throughout
the world always had to grapple
with the dilemma of how to
celebrate Shabbat with a hot meal
after Saturday synagogue services
when they couldn't light a fire to
heat the food. Wherever they lived
— in Eastern Europe, North Africa,
the Middle East — they solved this
problem by preparing a slow
cooking bean- and meat-based dish,
called cholent in Eastern Europe,
skhina in North Africa, and hamim
in Israel.
Traditional recipes all contain
meat and schmaltz or other animal
fat, foods high in cholesterol,
saturated fat, and fat in general,
items generally regarded as
unhealthful for almost everyone.
One serving of "traditional" cholent,
for example, made without kishka or
schmaltz, still contains at least 850
calories per serving, 50 percent of
which come from fat. So what's a
good Jewish homemaker to do —
give up cholent for Shabbat?
No way! Happily, you can make
cholent, without all the fat that
accompanies popular "traditional"
recipes.
LOW-FAT, LOW CHOLESTEROL
EAST EUROPEAN CHOLENT
1 cup dry lima beans, washed and
sorted
1 cup dry small white beans,
washed and sorted
1 /2 cup non fat chicken broth
3 large onions, coarsely sliced
12 boned chicken breast fillets,
skin and obvious fat removed
salt, pepper, paprika, garlic
powder
Low-Fat Spicy Stuffing
2 /3 cup pearl barley, washed
1 /2 cup dry lentils, washed and
sorted
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 bay leaves
6 red potatoes, unpeeled
2 large carrots, peeled and cut
into chunks
7 1/2 cups non-fat chicken broth (or
water)
Place the lima and white beans
in a large pot. Cover them
completely with water and bring the
pot to a boil. Boil 2 minutes and
then remove the pot from the heat.
Let them soak 1 hour. Drain before
adding to the other ingredients.
Preheat the oven to 350
degrees.
While the beans are soaking,
heat 1/2 cup non-fat chicken broth in
a pot large enough to hold the rest
of the ingredients. Add the onions.
Cook them over medium heat,
stirring occasionally, until the broth
has boiled away and the onions
start to brown.
While the onions are browning,
lay the chicken breasts flat on the
counter. Season them to taste with
salt, pepper, paprika and garlic
powder.
Add the drained soaked beans
to the pot with the sauteed onions.
Arrange the rolled chicken breasts
on top of them so the pretty side is
up and the overlapping edges touch
the beans. Then add the barley,
lentils, garlic, and bay leaves.
Season this with additional salt,
pepper, and paprika if desired.
Cover the top with the whole
potatoes and then the carrot chunks
for color.
Add the remaining broth and
enough additional water so the
ingredients are almost completely
covered. If using a crock-pot, bring
to a boil. Cook on medium heat for
1 hour. Then cover tightly, lower the
heat, and cook slowly overnight.
OR bring to a boil on top of the
stove. Then cover tightly and place
in the oven. Bake 1 hour at 350
degrees. Then turn the oven down
to 225 degrees. Bake it overnight.
To serve, place a potato half
and a chicken roll in each person's
bowl. Ladle the bean/barley/lentil
soup over it. Garnish with a carrot
chunk.
Serves 12 generously.
LOW-FAT, LOW-CHOLESTEROL
MOROCCAN CHOLENT (SKHINA)
1 pound dry garbanzo beans,
washed and sorted
1 pinch saffron
1 teaspoon salt
1 /2 cup non-fat chicken broth
10 gloves garlic, whole and
unpeeled
1 cup seedless raisins
1 cup raw long-grain rice
3-pound turkey breast half, skin
and obvious fat removed
salt, pepper, paprika and garlic
powder
2 pounds whole potatoes, peeled
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled
2 cinnamon sticks
3 green onions, chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 /2 teaspoon allspice
1 /2 teaspoon nutmeg
4 whole cloves
salt and pepper to taste
water
12 dried apricots
Place the dry garbanzo beans
in a large pot. Cover them with
water and let them soak overnight.
The next day, drain them. Remove
any loose skin.
Preheat oven to 225 degrees.
Place the prepared garbanzos
in the bottom of a large casserole or
oven-proof pot that has a tight-fitting
lid. Add the saffron, 1 teaspoon salt,
the garlic cloves, the raisins and the
rice.
Season the turkey breast with
salt, pepper, paprika and garlic
powder to taste. Add it to the pot,
bone side down, so the rice can fill
up its cavity.
Top this with the whole, peeled
potatoes. Bury the cinnamon sticks
in the casserole. Then combine the
remaining spices with the chopped
green onions. Sprinkle this mixture
over all. Add salt and pepper to
taste. Arrange the dried apricots in
the spaces between the potatoes.
Add boiling water almost to the top
of the potatoes. If using a crock-pot,
put on the lid and bring it to a boil.
Cook on medium for 30 minutes.
Then reduce the heat and cook
slowly overnight.
If using the oven, bring the pot
to a boil on top of the stove. Let it
simmer for 30 minutes. Then place
it in the oven to cook slowly
overnight.
To serve, take the potatoes out
of the casserole. Next, remove the
turkey breast. Let it cool slightly,
then shred or slice it across the
grain. Place a piece of each potato
and some turkey into each person's
bowl. Ladle the garbanzo/rice soup
over it.
Serves 12 generously.
VEGETARIAN CHOLENT
1 pound dried white beans,
washed and sorted
2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
2 large onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pound mushrooms, washed and
cut in half
salt, pepper, paprika to taste
2 bay leaves, crumbled
1 /2 cup pearl barley, washed
6 red potatoes
3 large carrots, cut in chunks
6 celery stalks, cut in chunks
(including leaves)
2 cups fresh green beans,
trimmed
2 red or green peppers, seeded
and cut in chunks
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
water
Place the beans in a large pot.
Cover with water and bring to a
boil. Boil for 2 minutes and remove
from the heat. Let them soak for 1
hour. Then drain.
Preheat oven to 225 degrees.
Heat the oil in a large pot.
Add the onions, garlic and
mushrooms and cook until the
vegetables wilt and begin to brown.
Add the soaked beans and salt,
pepper and paprika to taste.
Carefully layer the other ingredients
into the pot. Cover with water. Bring
to a boil, cover tightly. Simmer on
top of the stove 30 minutes. Then
transfer to oven.
To serve, ladle into bowls.
Serves 8.
SOUTHWESTERN STYLE
CHOLENT
1 pound dry red, pinto, or black
beans, washed and sorted
2 tablespoons oil
3 onions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
up to 1 tablespoon crushed red
pepper
1 cup brown rice
3-6 whole dried red peppers
salt to taste
1 teaspoon cumin
1 /2 teaspoon dried oregano
water
6 ears of corn, broken in half,
fresh or frozen
2 acorn or other orange squash,
cut in pieces.
Place the beans in a large pot.
Cover them completely with water
and bring the pot to a boil. Boil 2
minutes and then remove the pot
from the heat. Let the beans soak 1
hour. Drain before adding to the
other ingredients.
Preheat oven to 225 degrees.
Heat the oil in a pot large
enough to hold all the ingredients.
Saute the onions and garlic until
they start to brown. Add the crushed
red pepper.
When the vegetables are ready,
add the soaked beans and then the
rice. Combine the remaining
seasonings and sprinkle over all.
Add salt to taste. Add enough water
to go at least 2 inches above the
mixture in the pot. Cover and bring
to a boil. Simmer 1 hour.
Arrange corn and squash on
top.
Bring to a boil again. Cover the
crock-pot tightly and cook slowly
overnight.
Or, bring to a boil on top of the
stove. Then place in the oven and
cook slowly overnight.
Leslye Michlin Borden is a former
Detroiter who specializes in low-fat
kosher cooking.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
L-7