Friday, February 17, 2012

Cholent

Cholent is a Jewish beef stew that's typically served on Sabbath. It is great because it is loaded with fresh vegetables and it has a really different flavor than you would taste elsewhere. It is also a good way to use some strips of TVP is you happen to have a large bag of them. I will own that the ingredients are a little harder to come by, but it is worth it. From the Veganomicon.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, cut into medium-size dice
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon tarragon
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon salt
Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper
½ cup red cooking wine, water, or vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
½ cup French lentils, rinsed (Whole Foods has them in the bulk section)
1 cup peeled, sliced carrorts (about ½ inch thick)
4 medium-sized potatoes (about 1 ¼ pounds), peeled and cut into ¾ inch chunks)
1 (15 ounce can) tomato sauce
3 cups water
1 cup TVP chunks ( not granules or crumbles, if you use Mom’s TVP chunks, you may want to cut them a little)
1 cup frozen or canned and drained lima beans or green peas
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Preheat a large soup pot over medium heat. Sauté the onions in the oil until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, tarragon, caraway seeds, salt, and pepper. Sauté until the garlic is fragrant, about a minute more.
Deglaze the pot with the red wine. Add the bay leaves, lentil, carrots, potatoes, tomato sauce, water, and TVP chunks. Mix together. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the potatoes and carrot are tender.
Add the lima and kidney beans and cook until heated through.