Joan Nathans Cholent Recipes

CHOLENT

Steps:

• Line the bottom of a slow cooker with the potatoes, the onion and then the short ribs, sprinkling the meat with pepper to taste.
• Scatter the barley and the beans on top, then pour on the broth and the honey or molasses. Sprinkle with the paprika and salt to taste. Add enough water to cover all the ingredients. Cook on low for 12 to 15 hours, stirring occasionally (except during Shabbat, for those who observe it), adding more water if necessary. The longer the cholent cooks, the better it will be.

CHOLENT

Steps:

• Place the beans in a medium bowl and cover with a few inches of water. Refrigerate at least 8 hours.
• Using the sear feature of your slow cooker, or a heavy pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Season the beef on both sides with salt and pepper. Sear the beef until deep golden brown on one side, 6 to 8 minutes. Turn and sear other side until golden brown, 4 to 6 more minutes. Remove the beef and set aside. Remove and discard excess oil. Add 1/4 cup of the red wine and scrape the bottom of the pan. Cook until mostly reduced, about 30 seconds.
• If searing in the slow cooker, add the onions in one layer. Top with the potatoes, then the seared beef. If searing in a separate pan, place the onions in one layer on the bottom of the slow cooker. Top with the potatoes, then the beef, then pour in the reduced wine.
• Top with the drained beans, then the carrots, garlic and barley. Whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup red wine, tomato paste and honey in a large glass measuring cup and add 2 cups water. Add the water mixture and the beef broth to the cooker. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours.
• Stir in the vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley and serve.

CHIEF OF STAFF CHOLENT (HEBRONITE HAMIM)

Steps:

• 1. On Thursday night, soak the white or red beans and chickpeas in cold water to cover.
• 2. On Friday morning, in a large heavy pot, sauté the onions in the vegetable oil until translucent. Then add the brown sugar and the water and carefully caramelize the onions over very low heat. Turn off the heat until the remaining ingredients are prepared.
• 3. Drain the beans and scatter them on top of the onions.
• 4. Cut the fat from the brisket, dice the fat, and set it aside. Rinse the rice in cold water and then drain; repeat twice more. Season the rice with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper and dot with about 4 tablespoons of cubed beef fat. Place the rice in the center of a sheet of cheesecloth and enclose it loosely, so that the rice can expand. Tie with a thin strip of cheesecloth or twine and set aside.
• 5. Season the frika, bulgur, or barley with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper, dot with about 4 tablespoons of cubed beef fat, and put it in another piece of cheesecloth. Tie it up loosely.
• 6. Add the beef bones to the onions in the pot. Set the brisket on top, then the 2 bags of grains, the kishke, pearl onions, potatoes, and eggs. Sprinkle with additional salt to taste, pepper, baharat, and soup powder. Add water to cover, cover the pot, and ring to a boil. Then transfer to a preheated 200-degree oven to cook overnight or put the pot on a blech (a heated asbestos pad which many Jewish cooks use to keep Sabbath dishes warm) over low heat and leave until ready to serve.
• Joan Nathan shares her tips with Epicurious:
• •For this dish, Nathan prefers the texture and flavor of dried chickpeas and beans to canned. •Baharat, an Eastern Mediterranean spice blend, generally includes paprika, hot pepper, black pepper, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves, and salt. It is available at Middle Eastern markets. If you can't find it, Nathan recommends using your favorites from the list above, being sure to include pepper. •"This dish can easily be made in a slow cooker," says Nathan. "Sauté the onions and place them in the cooker, then add the drained beans and other ingredients. Leave the dish to cook throughout the day or overnight."

JOAN NATHAN'S HAROSETH

Steps:

• Grind the raisins and 1 1/2 cups of the almonds together in a meat grinder (see tip). Set aside in a bowl.
• Grate the apple into the raisins and almonds and add the cinnamon. Mix well to combine.
• Using your hands, press the mixture into 1-inch balls. Using the remaining almonds, press 1 into each haroseth. There will be lots of haroseth left over; serve in bowls at the table during Passover.

JOAN NATHAN'S RUGELACH (CINNAMON, CHOCOLATE, OR APRICOT)

Steps:

• To make the dough, place the cream cheese and the butter in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle. Cream at a low speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Add the flour and salt and mix until a very soft dough is formed, about 2 more minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 2 cookie sheets with baking parchment (or a Silpat baking mat).
• Mix the ingredients for the apricot or chocolate filling and divide the dough into 4 balls. On a lightly floured surface roll the balls out into 4 circles about 1/8-inch thick and 9 inches in diameter. Spread the apricot or chocolate filling over the dough. If using the cinnamon-sugar filling, brush the melted butter on first, then sprinkle the combined cinnamon and sugar.
• Using a dull knife, cut each circle into 16 pie-shaped pieces about 2 inches wide at the circumference. Roll up from the wide side to the center. Place the rugelach on the lined cookie sheets. Bake in the oven on the middle and lower racks, switching after 12 minutes, also switching back to front. Continue baking about 13 more minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the rugelach to racks to cool.
• Sprinkle the apricot and chocolate rugelach with confectioners' sugar just before serving.