CHOLENT
This cholent recipe celebrates the soul-warming tradition of Sabbath stew, layering beans, meat, vegetables, and grains in a richly spiced broth, then slow-cooking it overnight. The long, slow simmer melds deep, comforting flavors—perfuming your home and rewarding the Shabbat table with hearty, satisfying bowls.
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 turkey legs
- 2 pounds short ribs or brisket
- 2 pounds beef knuckle or shin bone
- 1 pound white beans or garbanzo beans, soaked overnight and drained
- 2 heads garlic peeled
- 1/2 pound kosher sausage (merguez, turkey, Italian)
- 2 onions peeled and sliced
- 2 potatoes peeled and cut in 2-inch chunks
- 2 yams or 1 small butternut squash peeled and cut in 2-inch chunks
- 2 carrots peeled and cut in 2-inch chunks
- 10 eggs whole, in shell
- 2 dry or 4 fresh bay leaves
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp hot paprika
- 1 tbsp salt, or to taste
- 1 tsp freshly ground pepper, or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
- In a very large oven- and stove-proof pot, heat the olive oil until hot. Add the turkey legs and sear on all sides until brown. Remove. Do the same with the short ribs and knuckle bone — keep your range-vent fan on — and sear them well. Just as the meat is finishing, place half the beans in the pot. Add half the garlic. Lay in the sausage and turkey legs, the remaining the beans, the remaining garlic, the vegetables, the whole eggs and the spices. Add water to go 3/4 of the way up to the top. Bring to boil then simmer one hour.
- Cover with a tight-fitting lid. Place in preheated oven.
- Cook overnight, at least 8 hours. Check twice or so to make sure water is still at 3/4 level, adding more if necessary. Serve hot, offering each guest a little of everything. Great with some harissa on the side.
Notes
For a vegetarian version, leave out the meat, add more squash and a handful of rice. No one will starve.
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