Cholent D'or

Submitted by .ryan.

"This cholent is a very special veggie cholent that I have spent the past 9 months or so trying to perfect. Cholent was always something that I looked forward to having, but when I went vegetarian, I found it extremely hard to differentiate between "veggie cholent" and just another variety of bean/barley stew. Something was missing from all of those recipes, and I would like to say that I have finally found an acceptable replacement. Also good for those who just want to try something new. Enjoy! Notes: One thing about this cholent that is absolutely necessary is the brown sugar in the sauce. Please don't omit it! It adds a unique savouriness to the final dish that really helps this taste more like a real cholent. If you try to avoid sugar in recipes, try substituting agave nectar (very scant 1/4 cup) or if veganism is not a concern, substitute honey."

 

• Ready In: 19hrs 30mins
• Ingredients: 16
• Serves: 6-8

ingredients

• 3 medium onions
• 3 -4 sweet potatoes, peeled
• 1 1⁄2 cups beans
• 1 cup barley
• 3 -4 carrots, peeled

• SAUCE

• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes (NOT crushed)
• 5 -7 cups water
• 1⁄4 cup brown sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons ground fennel
• 1 teaspoon parsley
• 1 teaspoon flavored salt, flavoured (i.e. celery salt or Herbamare Original salt)
• 1⁄4 teaspoon basil
• 1 dash pepper
• 1 dash smoked paprika
• 1 dash garlic powder (optionally crush a clove of garlic)

directions

1. Cut the onions and sweet potatoes into large pieces and add to the crock pot.
2. Add the barley and beans (I tend to use a mixture of navy/black eyed/red kidney beans -- also remember to either soak/boil the beans or buy them in a can!).
3. Coin the carrots very thinly (~2 millimetres thick) and add to the pot.
4. Now to make the sauce. Strain the liquid from the tomatoes into a medium-sized bowl containing the dry ingredients (everything but the water). Toss the tomato pieces into the crock pot.
5. Stir up the sauce mixture and check the taste. Adjust anything that doesn't fit your palatte.
6. Add the sauce mixture and add water to fill up to just below covering the vegetables.
7. Add a kishke (I'll be adding a recipe for that soon) to the top if desired.
8. Cover the crock pot and turn on low.
9. Shabbat Shalom!

Reviews

[mrs cupcake]

Based on the previous reviewer's comments, I cut down the proportions of this recipe to fit in my 4-quart crockpot. I used 2 good-sized sweet potatoes and half of a large can of tomatoes. I initially put in only enough water to cover (about 3 cups), but I needed to add more water halfway through since the barley soaked up most of that. I felt like it needed some kind of seasoning but I'm not sure what -- it turned out kind of bland. It's one of those dishes that's definitely better once it has cooled a bit.

 

[heatherhopecs]

I really wanted to like this recipe, but unfortunately, it wasn't as good as I expected. The amount of seasoning was not sufficient, so it came out a little bland, and I didn't care for the tomato/sweet potato flavor combo. If you do make this, use a very large crock pot. I had to reduce the amount of several ingredients and it still overflowed in my 4 quart pot.