Health & Fitness
PANDORA'"
FOOD
UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS
Before The Fast
Cholent offers one-pot comfort food erev Yom Kippur.
Linda Morel
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
New York
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40
September 9 • 2010
t a surprise 40th birthday
party for a friend, her mother
stood at their stove stirring a
huge cauldron of simmering stew.
The chicken, flanken, potatoes, car-
rots, dried peas and barley in the pot
emitted an aroma that made the offer-
ings prepared by the caterer pale in
comparison.
With Yom Kippur beginning this year
on a Friday (Sept. 17), it occurred to me
that the best thing to eat before the fast
begins would be chicken cholent. Many
Jews customarily consume chicken and
rice on erev Yom Kippur.
A one-pot meal brimming with nutri-
tious foods, cholent is a traditional
Sabbath dish. However, it is usually
served for lunch on Saturdays or as a hot
meal immediately after the Havdalah
service that brings Shabbat to an end.
Cholent is an ideal hot meal for
Sabbath observers, who do not cook or
perform any work from Friday at sun-
down until Shabbat ends 24 hours later.
A signature dish of Ashkenazim, cho-
lent can be made from almost anything.
One reason is because in the old
country, Jews were poor and threw any
scrap of food they could find into their
stews. However, a traditional cholent is
made with meat and meat bones, pota-
toes, beans and barley. More modern
recipes for vegetarian cholents dotted
with tofu now abound.
Not to be outdone, Sephardim for
centuries have prepared spectacular
Sabbath stews infused with the most
marvelous seasoning. These aromatic
recipes are often called hamim, or "hot"
in Hebrew.
With erev Yom Kippur falling as the
Sabbath begins, this one-pot meal is
ideal to serve before the fast. A hearty
dish that is filling but not fancy, cholent
is in line with Yom Kippur's solemn
theme. As it can be prepared hours in
advance, cholent is a practical dish for
home cooks who want to avoid the last-
minute rush that often precedes arriv-
ing at Kol Nidre services on time.
I suggest serving rice with your stew.
It's easy to digest, and rice is a balanced
accompaniment to a one-pot meal
brimming with vegetables and chicken.
Most stew recipes do not indicate how
much water is needed, which many cooks
find maddening. However, it's almost
impossible to gauge quantities of water
because so many factors influence the
result, such as temperature and consis-
tency of the heat and thickness of the pot.
However, if you add too much water
to the pot, you'll end up with soup, not a
terrible fate. Should this happen, it can
be remedied by leaving the pot uncov-
ered and raising the flame to cook off
some of the excess water.
If you put too little water into the pot,
the ingredients could dry out or burn.
You can always add more water and stir
it to combine evenly.
Keep an eye on the pot to check for
water levels. Stir at least once every half
hour. Ideally, the ingredients in your
cholent should yield a thickened gravy.
However, it doesn't matter how a cholent
turns out because thick or thin, this fool-
proof dish is delicious and sustaining.
CHICKEN CHOLENT
(Ashkenazi style, meat)
No-stick vegetable spray, optional
8 skinless chicken thighs
4 sweet potatoes
8 carrots
1 parsnip
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound string beans, cut in half
horizontally
1 Tbsp. dill, minced
Salt to taste
8 Tbsp. parsley, minced, optional
garnish
Use a large stockpot, preferably of
the stick-resistant variety. If not using
a stick-resistant pot, spray pot interior
generously with no-stick vegetable
spray.
Rinse chicken under cold water and
place in the pot.
Scrape skin from sweet potatoes and
cut each into 8 chunks. Scrape carrots
and parsnip and cut into 1-inch chunks.
To the pot, add the sweet potatoes, car-
rots, parsnip, onion, garlic string beans
and dill.
Add enough cold water to just cover
the ingredients. They shouldn't slog
around in excess water. Gently stir
ingredients. Cover the pot and place it
on a medium-high flame until the water
simmers. Reduce to the lowest possible
flame. Let cholent simmer for 6 to 8
hours, or longer if you've got the time,
until the gravy thickens. For safety sake,
do not leave cholent pot unattended.
Add salt to taste. However, for the erev
Yom Kippur meal, use salt sparingly so
as not to cause thirst and undue dis-
comfort during the fast.
Serve over rice in large soup bowls.
Garnish with parsley, if using. Yield: 8
servings.
CHICKEN TAGINE
(Moroccan style, meat)
No-stick vegetable spray, optional
8 skinless chicken thighs
4 white potatoes
1 large onion, chopped
1 /2 tsp. fresh ginger root, skinned
and chopped
1 (28 oz.) can chopped tomatoes
1 (15.5 oz.) can chickpeas
2 or 3 zucchini, diced large
4 tomatoes, chopped
1 /2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Salt to taste
8 Tbsp. cilantro, minced, optional
garnish
Use a large stockpot, preferably of
the stick-resistant variety. If not using
a stick-resistant pot, spray pot's inte-
rior generously with no-stick vegetable
spray.
Rinse chicken under cold water and
place in the pot.
Scrape skin from potatoes and cut
each into 8 chunks. To the pot, add
chicken, potatoes, onion, ginger, canned
tomatoes, chickpeas, zucchini, chopped
tomatoes, cumin and cinnamon.
Add enough cold water to the pot
to just cover the ingredients. They
shouldn't slog around in excess water.
Gently stir ingredients. Cover the pot
and place it on a medium-high flame
until the water simmers. Reduce to the
lowest possible flame.
Let tagine simmer for 6 to 8 hours, or
longer if you've got the time, until the
gravy thickens. For safety sake, do not
leave cholent pot unattended.
When ready, add salt to taste. However,
for the erev Yom Kippur meal, use salt
sparingly so as not to cause thirst and
undue discomfort during the fast.
Serve over rice in large soup bowls.
Garnish with cilantro, if using. Yield: 8
servings.
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