Cholent (Ashkenazi Chamin)
חמין אשכנזי
Cholent is one of the few dishes that is entirely and uniquely Jewish, born out of the rabbinic prohibition against cooking on Shabbat. Since at least the 12th century — when Rabbi Yitzhak of Vienna first documented it — Ashkenazi Jews across Eastern Europe prepared a heavy pot of meat, beans, and potatoes on Friday afternoon and left it slowly simmering in the baker's oven overnight. The name derives from the Old French 'chaud-lent' (warm slowly). The poet Heinrich Heine famously wrote that the recipe must have been given to Moses on Sinai.
Ingredients
- •1 kg beef brisket or flanken, cut into large chunks
- •2 cups dried white or kidney beans, soaked overnight
- •1/2 cup pearl barley
- •6 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
- •2 large onions, diced
- •4 cloves garlic, smashed
- •3 tablespoons neutral oil
- •5 tablespoons date honey (silan)
- •2 tablespoons salt
- •1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- •1 teaspoon paprika
- •1 teaspoon garlic powder
- •6 whole eggs in their shells
- •Water to cover
Instructions
- 1
Heat oil in a heavy Dutch oven. Sear the beef chunks until deep brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- 2
In the same pot, sauté diced onions until golden, about 5 minutes. Add smashed garlic and cook 1 more minute.
- 3
Return the beef to the pot. Add the drained beans, barley, potatoes, and nestle the whole eggs between the ingredients.
- 4
Drizzle silan, then sprinkle salt, black pepper, paprika, and garlic powder evenly over everything.
- 5
Pour in enough water to just cover all ingredients (about 1.5 litres). Bring to a boil.
- 6
Reduce to the lowest heat, cover tightly. Alternatively, transfer to an oven at 93°C (200°F).
- 7
Cook at least 12 hours — ideally overnight from Friday evening to Saturday noon. Do not lift the lid.
- 8
To serve: remove and peel the eggs. Slice or pull the beef apart. Serve directly from the pot.
Kosher notes
Fully fleishig (meat). For pareve, omit beef and add extra beans and root vegetables. Never serve dairy after this dish.
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