Preparing for the holidays with my mom was a major highlight of my childhood. Although my father was the main cook in our family, my mother took over the kitchen on the holidays, and dad’s primary responsibility was to make the brisket.

Like many other special dishes that we ate on dedicated holidays throughout the calendar, my mother made tsimmes twice a year, in the fall for Rosh Hashanah (it is traditional to eat sweet foods on Rosh Hashanah), and in the spring, for Passover. She never used recipes, preferring instead to combine ingredients as her grandmother and mother-in-law did. Truthfully, though, tsimmes is one of those dishes that probably doesn’t really need much of a recipe anyway.

I don’t want you to skip this recipe because there are too many ingredients, so I have italicized the critical ingredients, and I encourage you to choose among all the rest to create your own special version of tsimmes. The word tsimmes means “a big deal,” so making your own version is right in line with the intention of this dish. My mother made her tsimmes with small chunks of brisket, and you should feel free to do the same if everyone at your table eats meat and the spirit moves you. Wishing everyone, and I mean everyone, a sweet Pesach.

3 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup white onion, diced
3 large carrots, peeled and sliced into ¼–inch rounds
[1 cup bite-sized chunks of brisket if desired, taken from the brisket pot]
2-3 cooked sweet potatoes (baked or microwaved), cooled, peeled and divided into 6-8 chunks each.
1 large apple, peeled, cored and chopped
½ cup prunes, chopped coarsely
¼ cup dried apricots, in thin slices
¾ cup water [or ½ cup fresh-squeezed orange juice PLUS ¼ cup water]
1½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. ground ginger
2 Tbsp. honey
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350F, and prepare all your ingredients.
2. Preheat a large Dutch oven at high heat on top of the stove until a sprinkle of water from your wet fingers sputters and evaporates quickly. Reduce heat to medium, add olive oil, and heat until fragrant. Add onions to the hot oil, and sauté until translucent. Add the carrots, and continue to sauté until the carrots are softening and the onions are golden.
3. Add all the remaining ingredients, and combine gently with the onions and carrots. The sweet potatoes may break apart somewhat, which is fine.
4. Transfer to the oven, cover, and bake 45-50 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to rest at least 5-10 minutes prior to serving. Serve hot or warm, directly from the cooking dish. Serves 6-8 generously.