This weekend I made our first cholent of the season for Sukkot, the fall harvest festival. We ate it inside our beautiful sukkah, built mostly by my husband, but this year with the help —for the first time — of our very young grandchildren. Cholent warms you from the inside out in chilly weather, and then, just little while later, it is gone.
I have made cholent (a crockpot stew traditionally served on holidays and Shabbat) a thousand times or more in my life, and no two versions have ever come out exactly the same. But, like riding a bike, there is a rhythm to the recipe, and once you get the rhythm, it belongs to you for the rest of your life.
A few years ago, I made the recipe below and when I brought it to the table my father said “I don’t like cholent.” Then he ate a huge bowlful, and said he changed his mind. Don’t mess with me! The truth is that I do not normally use anywhere near this much Sriracha, but there were two bottles in the refrigerator, and one had just a couple inches at the bottom while the other was full, so I went for broke and decided to use up the entire contents of the lesser one. And that was a great idea. Too much is never enough.
For whatever reason, I happened to make note of all the other things I put into the crockpot that day, and I was glad I did because this one is a keeper. Especially since my dad liked it. 🙂
1/2 cup small dry white beans
3/4 cup dry green-brown lentils
3 medium potatoes (washed, scrubbed, and cut into 6-8 chunks)
1 med-large sweet potato (washed, scrubbed, and cut into 8-10 chunks)
1 large Vidalia onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup red quinoa
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 cup Sriracha sauce
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 Tbsp. olive oil (EVOO)
Fill the bottom of the crockpot with the potatoes and onion slices. Pour the white beans onto one side of the crockpot, and pour the lentils onto the other side, 180 degrees from one another. Pour the quinoa in the middle. Don’t worry about spread — the idea is just to keep them in their own general sections so that when the cholent is done you can scoop from different areas of the pot to get a good amount of whatever you choose.
Sprinkle the pot with garlic powder, and add the Sriracha and olive oil. Mix the tomato paste with some hot water, a little bit at a time, until it is pourable, and then pour it over the vegetables in the crockpot.
Fill the pot with hot water to 2-3 inches below the top, cover, and set to LOW. Cook 12-16 hours, bring to the table, and serve with pickles. You could also serve it with some avocado cubes on top if you like. That’s how I served it to my dad.
And the rhythm of the recipe? It’s in the beans, the potatoes, the onions. Plus something, anything, made with tomatoes. And the slow, slow cooking. Once you’ve got that, you can take the rest of this recipe anywhere you like. I’ve made it with a piece of meat, and I’ve added whole (intact, unbroken) raw eggs that come out hard boiled with the flavor of the cholent. I’ve used whole garlic cloves, and Roma tomatoes. Chicken thighs. Chickpeas. Black beans. Sweet potatoes. Golden beets. Kasha. Brown rice. Barley. Love, the best ingredient of all. Sometimes this recipe smells so great as it cooks through the night that it wakes me.
I have always read NOT to cook dried beans in a crockpot because temperature does not get high enough to destroy PHA and may lead to intestinal distress and vomiting. So, I have never done it and I soak them overnight and change water, etc. But you apparently have no issues as described. Have you ever had a concern or discomfort?
Well, tbh, I do sometimes presoak beans, but I have never heard this bit about crockpots and the temperature required to deactivate enzymes. The good news is that I have been cooking dry beans in crockpots for decades, and have fed them to many, many people over the years, including everyone in my family, and I have never heard a single complaint, even from a whole bunch of people (myself included) who tend to have a low threshold for GI sensitivities. So it may be worth trying, even if you have to make a small batch at first. Keep me posted!
Have now reread this recipe for the fourth or fifth time, but who is counting? I reread it because this is, in part, about the love you had for your dad. (i too had a wonderful dad.). Am gonna make cholent soon. Have most all the ingredients you mentioned on hand. Will do just a bit of substitution because do not have quinoa. Or who knows, i may swing by Marc’s. Your blog and the possibilities you mention with food enrich us all. Thank you for this and for the reminder that there is joy in the small things.
Thank you Joe. Thank you. I do not have adequate words to express my gratitude for your ongoing kindness and generosity.
p.s. In the past I used to use barley, which is a traditional grain for cholent. You might like that one a lot.
Ha, had barley, but went with kasha cuz it had been in my cupboard longer. Found mung beans too so went with those in lieu of the lentils. Much to my surprise i was out of sriracha, so went with a Chinese broad bean chili paste (toban djan). This is such a forgiving recipe. So glad i made it and thoroughly enjoyed it. This is a recipe that is almost zen in the making.
Oh my gosh, Joe! You’ve definitely got it. I love your description of it being “almost zen in the making.” Perhaps the best description of the rhythm of cholent that I’ve ever seen. And are you sure you were out of sriracha? Blasphemy! But broad bean chili paste? Brilliant. I should talk — I ran out of tomato paste and substituted Thai red curry paste in a recipe last month. Not surprisingly, it gave the recipe fabulous richness and depth of flavor. Can’t wait to do it again. Keep posting your cholent variations on a theme. I’m really enjoying them!
Hahahaha i blame it on being a tad older … hahaha i found sambal in my pantry too … bout ready to do cholent again … i am excited … just thinking about it brings me a sense of mindfulness …but i gotta search my pantry a bit more thoroughly … did i mention i have frozen roasted San Marzano tomatoes in my freezer from this past summer. Oh yes!
Haha back atcha! Now it appears that you’ve been bitten by the bug. Absolutely irresistible, isn’t it? and, um…no…you did not mention those San Marzano tomatoes…jealous…just a bit. Keep us posted and let me know how this batch turns out. Have a good weekend.