This is presented with the presumption that people looking in are familiar with the concept of cholent. For those of you who may not know anything about this Sabbath staple of Ashkenazi Jewish winter cuisine (not to be confused with the Sephardic chamin) I would direct you to here, for a fairly concise explanation of its history and development.
In common with most traditional “family dishes” there are as many nuances of the basic recipe as there are people who cook it. The one I present here is based on the very plain cholent recipe my booba (my grandmother) used to cook and which we all loved, but with several embellishments which I’ll explain as we go along.
By using oxtail, rather than one of the normal cuts of beef – typically from the forequarters of the animal – I am going against all tradition, even my own! My reason for using oxtail though, was purely pragmatic in that I wanted to make a cholent, and oxtail was the only thing I had in the freezer. And although not traditional, oxtail has all the basic qualities required for this long, slow cooking process, in that it is a fat and sinuous meat.
Sadly, for most observant Jewish readers of this post – unless you reside in Israel and perhaps certain parts of the States, you probably won’t be able to get your hands on kosher oxtail. If that is the case, use a cut of fat beef on the bone; a meaty piece of shin would work well or a large top rib.
It also helps to have a wood burning stove such as I have here in Spain – perfect for slow cooking at low temperatures – but any real oven will do. Avoid however, electric slow cookers and dutch ovens (so sadly prevalent now in Israel) as you’ll end up with all the flavour escaping from the ingredients into the liquid: Fantastic if you want a brilliant soup, but not if you want a rich, unctuous hotpot where each component is packed with flavour.
Anyhow, the proof of the cholent is in the cooking, and this turned out the best cholent I have tasted in years. Whether or not my booba would have approved of my embellishments is open to question…
INGREDIENTS (serves 4)
2 cups – butter (Lima) beans – soaked overnight in several changes of spring water (or filter water – chlorinated tap water tends to toughen beans and impairs their flavour)
1 cup – pearl barley – rinsed thoroughly and soaked for 1 hour (again, in spring water)
4 – large carrots – pealed and left whole
1 – large onion – pealed and sliced thickly
1 – large oxtail – cut into 6 or 7 pieces
2 – bay leaves
12 – white and black pepper corns
4 – large potatoes – pealed and cut in half
1 – large head of garlic – with the outer “paper” removed
16 – small kneidlach (matzo meal dumplings) – with their cooking stock reserved
salt to taste
(Optional additions include a large stuffed chicken neck (helzel) and / or 4 shelled hard boiled eggs)
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 200°c (220° fan / 400° f)
1) Choose a large deep cooking pot or casserole with a tight fitting lid (any cast-iron or heavy enamelled pot will do)…
2) Place the butter (Lima) beans at the base of the pot…
3) Place the pearl barley on the beans (my grandmother only used the beans)…
4) Next, put in the carrots and onion…
5) Place the meat on the “bed” of vegetables and pulses…
6) Add the spices (Booba never used bay leaves – just salt and ground white pepper)…
7) Place the potatoes around the meat (remember – large pieces)…
8) Scorch the garlic and then place it on the meat (yup! You guessed it – Booba would never have used garlic!)…
9) Remove the kneidlach from their cooking stock and place around the meat and potatoes (no – Booba didn’t put kneidlach in her cholent either)
10) Pour a pint (or more if required) of the kneidlach cooking stock over the cholent (Booba used water – but whichever liquid you use, the more you use the wetter the cholent will be. I prefer it drier with all the juices absorbed into the ingredients)…
11) Finally, seal the lid of the pot with a piece of baking parchment or tinfoil….
12) Put the pot into the preheated oven and cook at 200°c (180° fan / 400°f) for two hours, then turn the heat down to about 110°c (90° fan / 230°f) and cook for a further 6 hours – or longer if preferred.
At no time during the cooking be tempted to lift off the lid.
When you do finally open the pot you want to be confronted by something like this (note how the kneidlach and edges of the potatoes have become slightly caramelised …
And finally you want to serve it with a good heavyweight red with plenty of complementary “beef” of its own – betey avon!!
ARKS, ADAM AND AXARQUIA 