Cholent Warms the Centuries

At the turn of the century, young Jewish boys on New York’s Lower East Side would take their mothers’ freshly assembled Sabbath stew, cholent, to a neighborhood bakery on Friday afternoon to be cooked overnight.

Each week, young Meyer Lansky’s mother gave him a nickel to pay the baker for this service. His route went by Delancey Street, where crap games were being played. When he was about 12, the future mobster decided to toss in his mother’s nickel and play the game. He lost--and returned with an uncooked cholent for the Sabbath.

The next week he played again, won and returned with a cooked cholent. Thus began his successful gambling career. Never again did he have to fear that he wouldn’t bring home the cholent.

People have a lot of stories about cholent. Fortunately, not too many are like Meyer Lansky’s.

Cholent is enjoying a rebirth, for the nonreligious as well as for the religious. And what better time to serve this robust bean stew, similar to French cassoulet, than at a gathering for Hanukkah, which begins Thursday evening.

Hanukkah commemorates the Maccabean victory over Antiochus of Syria about 21 centuries ago. While going to cleanse and rededicate the Temple, the Maccabees found only enough sacred oil to light the menorah for one day. But a miracle occurred, and one day’s supply lasted eight.

For each of the eight nights of Hanukkah, therefore, an additional candle is inserted, from right to left, and lighted by the shamas (or helper) until an eight-candled menorah is aglow.

“The aroma of the cholent when you are so cold after shul [synagogue] beckons you home,” says Linda Sterling of New York and Jerusalem. “For me, it is also the connection to my great-great-great-grandmother. It’s as if I am eating her leftovers.”

For Ben Moskowitz, owner of Star Bakery in Oak Park, Mich., the connection goes back to his own childhood in Czechoslovakia. “We had one of the few ovens, so each Friday all our neighbors brought their cholent pots to our home. They left them there overnight and the next day the pot of cholent was opened after synagogue.”

Whether it is called cholent, hamin or adafina, this Jewish Sabbath luncheon stew has been a distinguishing mark of Jewish cooking since at least the 4th century. In their written doctrine, the Mishnah, rabbis of the early Diaspora, explained how they created hamin (from ham, the Hebrew word for “hot”). On late Friday, the dish was to be covered and left in a hot oven so that the prohibition against lighting fires on the Sabbath could be observed.

The Sephardic version, adafina, was a combination of fava beans or garbanzo beans, onions, garlic and meat, and sometimes marrow bones. Spanish Jews would cover this dish with either a cloth or a flour-and-water crust and start it cooking on Friday before sunset, leaving it overnight in an oven that was often sealed with lime to preserve the heat. The next day, after synagogue service, they would open the pot for lunch.

In Israel, cholent is taking on a new character as a result of marriages between Jews from more than 70 nations. “My sister-in-law, who is Jerusalem Sephardic, makes a different cholent from ours,” said Nitza Ben Elissar, wife of the new Israeli ambassador to the United States. “So I have added her Sephardic koklas [a savory pudding with meat] and haminadavos [hard-cooked eggs] to mine. This is what Israel is all about, a give-and-take between the ethnic groups.”

Every wave of Jewish immigration to the Americas brought its own form of cholent. Today, opinion differs as to the best variety. Cholent purists think that only meat, onions and beans will do. Others make chicken cholents, crock pot adaptations or vegetarian cholents with Indian spices. Cholent is so akin to Boston baked beans that Boston baked cholent is a natural.

Even chefs like Allen Susser of Chef Allen’s in Miami are stirring up new versions, like his red bean and dried fruit rendition. Both salsa and catsup have been added as flavorings, and leftovers are great for tortilla fillings. In some areas with a heavy Orthodox Jewish population, local kosher supermarkets try to offer a cholent meat special every Friday.

Cholent is also a perfect excuse for a Hanukkah centerpiece for a large crowd and a welcome change from the latkes that are usually served. “I just felt like making cholent,” my friend said. The cholent was an easy centerpiece for a gathering of about 15 friends.

Play around with this dish. Depending on your tastes, add more potatoes and reduce the number of beans. Never stir the cholent, something you cannot do on the Sabbath anyway. Eat it slowly, with light red wine, beer or schnapps. Serve with sour pickles, a large green salad and a compote for dessert. And for Hanukkah, make sure you serve a plate of Israeli jelly doughnuts (sufganiyot) for dessert.

*

Nathan is the author of “Jewish Cooking in America” (Knopf, 1994).

BOSTON BAKED BEANS, JEWISH STYLE

1 pound navy or kidney beans

Cold water

3 pounds beef brisket

1 onion, sliced

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

1 tablespoon salt

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup molasses

This adaptation of cholent, which shows the American preference for sweet flavors as opposed to garlic and onions, appeared in numerous Jewish cookbooks at the turn of the century. I make this dish a day ahead, refrigerate it, skim off the fat and reheat it. It is a winter favorite with my family.

Wash beans and pick over, discarding any stones. Place in bowl and cover with cold water. Let soak overnight.

Drain beans and place them in 6-quart casserole with lid. Add brisket and onion.

Bring pot of water to boil. Mix mustard, salt, brown sugar, molasses and 2 cups boiling water, then pour mixture over beans. Add more boiling water if needed to cover stew. Cover and bake at 200 degrees 8 hours, uncovering casserole last hour so that meat and beans will brown.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Each of 8 servings contains about:

444 calories; 1,024 mg sodium; 79 mg cholesterol; 10 grams fat; 48 grams carbohydrates; 39 grams protein; 3.21 grams fiber.

CHOLENT

1 cup mixed dried beans (cranberry, kidney, large and small navy beans, black and lentils)

Water

1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil

2 large onions, chopped, plus 1 whole onion with skin

3 pounds flanken (short ribs) or chuck in 1 piece

2 tablespoons honey

3/4 cup barley

6 potatoes, peeled and left whole

2 cloves garlic or as much as 1/2 head, peeled and left whole

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 teaspoons paprika

Neck bones or marrow bones (about 1 pound)

10 to 12 eggs

You can be adventuresome with this recipe. Use as many kinds of beans as you want or add chestnuts, prunes, sausage or even more bones. Recipe is adapted from one by Sara Brizdle Dickman and Dassi Stern.

Day before cooking, soak beans 6 hours in water to cover. Rinse and drain.

Heat oil in large skillet and cook chopped onions until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add meat and brown on both sides.

Heat honey in bottom of 8-quart casserole over low heat until it darkens and caramelizes, 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Add beans, barley, potatoes, meat and onions. Scatter garlic around meat.

Before Shabbat starts, dissolve salt, pepper and paprika in small amount of water and pour over meat, adding enough water just to cover. Add meat bones, whole onion (skin adds color) and eggs to pot. Bring to boil. Cover pot with aluminum foil and lid and simmer 30 minutes on stove top. Remove to 200-degree oven and cook overnight.

Next morning, remove lid and check water. If water covers meat, uncover and bake 2 more hours so that water evaporates to make thick sauce. If there is no water, add a little bit.

Serve each ingredient separately on serving plates or on very large platter with ingredients separated.

Variations:

Alsatian Cholent: Use lima beans instead of other beans.

Vegetarian Cholent: Omit meat and add 1 (15-ounce) can tomatoes.

Indian Vegetarian Cholent: Omit canned tomatoes and add 2 teaspoons each ground cumin, tarragon and turmeric, and 1/2 teaspoon each ground ginger, cinnamon and curry powder.

Makes at least 10 servings.

Each of 10 servings contains about:

380 calories; 548 mg sodium; 61 mg cholesterol; 10 grams fat; 42 grams carbohydrates; 30 grams protein; 1.19 grams fiber.

ALLEN SUSSER’S RED BEAN AND DRIED FRUIT CHOLENT

3 cups dry red beans

Water

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup diced onions

1/2 cup diced carrots

1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

18 large dried figs, quartered

1/2 cup sun-dried cherries

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

This recipe is adapted from Allen Susser’s “New World Cuisine” (Doubleday, 1995).

Wash beans under cold running water, then soak 1 hour in enough water to cover completely. Drain.

Heat oil in large saucepan. Add onions and cook until they begin to caramelize, 15 minutes. Add drained beans, carrots, thyme and bay leaves. Add enough water to cover beans by 3 inches. Bring to boil over low heat, then simmer on low heat 1 hour. Add figs and cherries and continue to simmer 45 minutes longer. Add salt and pepper. Remove bay leaves.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Each of 8 servings contains about:

403 calories; 900 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 7 grams fat; 74 grams carbohydrates; 17 grams protein; 6.28 grams fiber.