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Message: <br /><br /> If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/57353/full/57353/a-french-restaurant-revives-my-memories-of-a-shabbat-classic/ <br /><br /> <b>A French restaurant revives my memories of a Shabbat classic</b> <br /> Friday, March 12, 2010 | by louise fiszer <br /><br /><p>On a recent visit to a French restaurant, I noticed that the menu featured cassoulet as a signature dish, describing it as a traditional casserole of southwest France consisting of beans slowly baked, with various kinds of meat and poultry.</p> <p><img alt="fiszer" class="left" height="200" src="http://www.jweekly.com/images/uploads/column_pics/cook/fiszer.jpg" title="fiszer" width="126" />This combination of ingredients and cooking method sounded familiar to me, and I realized it was very much like a Eastern European dish called cholent that my grandmother made for Shabbat. I hadn’t thought of this delicious meal for years and wondered if I had a recipe for it.</p> <p>Cholent is a traditional Shabbat dish because it is designed to be cooked very slowly. It can be started before Shabbat and is ready to eat for lunch the next day. The name “cholent” supposedly comes from the French words “chaud” and “lent” meaning “hot” and “slow.”</p> <p>I looked through all of my mother’s recipes but couldn’t find one for cholent. I remember hearing several senior members of my family discuss with love and tenderness this classic Eastern European Shabbat meal but somehow it escaped a written down version.</p> <p>I made a few phone calls to those remaining members of my family who would be able to recollect the formula. An aunt remembered the beans and the browned and crispy potatoes. My cousin’s mother-in-law remembered her mother constantly adding liquid to her stoneware pot. An elderly aunt was sure that it must be covered until ready to serve. Piecing together the information I got, I tried it.</p> <p>The result was a hit with my guests, a perfect hearty dish that has a delicious history of sustaining Jews for centuries.</p> <p><br /><strong>Cholent</strong></p> <p><strong>Serves 6</strong></p> <p>1 Tbs. olive oil</p> <p>1 large onion, sliced</p> <p>3-4 cloves garlic, sliced</p> <p>½ cup dried lima beans, soaked in cold water overnight</p> <p>½ cup dried kidney or pinto beans, soaked in cold water     overnight</p> <p>6 large potatoes, peeled and quartered</p> <p>1 lb. beef flanken or beef short ribs, cut into pieces</p> <p>6 cups water or chicken stock</p> <p>salt and pepper</p> <p> </p> <p><br />Preheat oven to 250 degrees. In a large ovenproof pot, heat the oil. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain the beans and add to pot along with remaining ingredients. Cover the pot and place in oven. Every so often check to see that the cholent is not getting too dry — if it is, add more liquid. It should remain in oven 10-12 hours but can cook up to 16 hours. To create a crispy top, uncover the cholent for the last hour of baking. It can also be cooked at 350 degrees for 4 hours.</p> <p><strong><br />Vegetarian Cholent</strong></p> <p><strong>Serves 4-6</strong></p> <p>2 Tbs. olive oil</p> <p>1 large onion, sliced</p> <p>2 carrots, peeled and diced</p> <p>1 lb. dry white beans, soaked overnight</p> <p>4 cups vegetable or mushroom broth</p> <p>1 cube vegetable bouillon</p> <p>1 bay leaf</p> <p>4 sprigs fresh parsley</p> <p>1 sprig fresh rosemary</p> <p>1 sprig fresh lemon thyme, chopped</p> <p>1 sprig fresh savory</p> <p>1 large potato, peeled and cubed</p> <p>Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir onion and carrots in oil until tender.</p> <p>In a slow cooker, combine beans, carrots and onion, broth, bouillon and bay leaf. Pour in extra water, if necessary, to cover ingredients. Tie together parsley, rosemary, thyme and savory, and add to the pot. Stir in potato. Place in oven and cook for</p> <p>8 hours, stirring every so often. Remove herbs before serving.</p> <p><br /><strong>Louise Fiszer </strong>is a Palo Alto cooking teacher, author and the co-author of “Jewish Holiday Cooking.” Her columns alternate with those of Faith Kramer. Questions and recipe ideas can be sent to j. or to <a href="mailto:loufiszer@aol.com">loufiszer@aol.com</a>.</p>

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