RFCJ RECIPE ARCHIVE
Posted by : Joe Slater Cholent, Spicy Hungarian - pareve
I am a bit gobsmacked at the idea of a recipe for cholent; it's one of those things which one just *does*. Still, here goes. This is a Hungarian cholent, which means it should be a bit spicy. To serve about six generous helpings: Take a cup each of three different beans. I like kidney beans butter beans and the white flat ones whose name I can't remember. Either soak overnight, or soak in hot water for a couple of hours. Pour away the water. Brown a chopped medium onion in some fat, or saute it in water if you're aiming for a low fat version. You want it well caramelised but not burnt, otherwise a meatless cholent tastes bland. You can use part of the onion to make a sort of dumpling called a kishke, even though it doesn't use a kishke (cow's intestine). Place the onion in a casserole dish, add the drained beans and a cup of barley, and two potatos cut into large chunks. A sliced carrot can also be nice, but it might make the cholent too sweet. Season with more paprika than seems right - long cooking modifies the taste. I do it by feel, but I'm guessing at a level soup spoon. Salt and pepper - about twice as much pepper as you'd think - to taste. Fill dish with water, and place in a very low oven or an extremely low flame overnight. If you want a quicker version, do it on the stove on a low flame - it will be ready i about four hours, although without the taste that comes from the extremely long cooking. Intersting things to add to the traditional version are: eggs in their shells, heads of garlic (wrapped in foil to protect the innocent) and whole oxen. Omit the last for a vegetarian cholent.
