9. Chollents and Casseroles

For the young housekeeper—or the veteran—the most wonderful help in the world is a third hand. I call my complete oven meal my "third" hand. If I have a freezer, the meal can come out of that freezer. If not, the meal can be prepared a day or several days before. On the day my company arrives, I need not be tired, anxious and divided between the pots on the stove and the guests in the living room. Nothing is going to burn!

Everything is roasting, heating and bubbling merrily together in the oven. More than likely the house is redo­lent with the smell of good food. If I am lucky, I own some of those wonderfully attractive oven wear dishes that grace the table with informal gaiety and keep every ounce of goodness and flavor and heat in until needed. And what a boon to the busy woman that can be, not only in prepara­tion but in cleaning up afterward!

But if you think these short cuts with the minimum of watching and maximum of safety for the hostess are modern inventions, you are mistaken indeed.

Mama had her own casserole cookery. She had chol-lent.

Why chollent?

Well, it was this way. Orthodox Jews are not allowed to light or to extinguish a fire on the Sabbath. Hence, it was necessary to invent a dish which could stand over­night in a banked oven. The result was a succulent, tender dish with a mixture of flavors, depending on what kind of chollent it was.

For chollents are many and varied and make a one-pot balanced meal. I prefer flanken in all chollent dishes—but that is not a must. You can use any cut of meat your family likes.

LIMA BEAN CHOLLENT

1 lb. (or more) flanken

11/2 cs. dry lima beans

1 onion

1 small green pepper

1  stalk celery

2  Ts. chicken fat

1 T. salt

Dash of pepper

1 c. water to start

1 c. tomato juice

Cut up onion, celery and green pepper into small pieces and sauté in fat. On a high flame sear flanken in the sautéed mixture until flanken is seared on all sides. Lower flame and add all other ingredients except beans—bring to a boil, skim and add the beans. Keep adding water a little at a time, as the beans absorb a lot of water. Cook on low flame for about 11/2 hours, then place in moderate, 375°, oven for 11/2 hours. Beans must not be dry—should have about the same amount of water as pot roast while cooking. A stuffed poultry neck can be put into the bean, roast with the flanken; that will save the work of cooking; the neck separately and add flavor to the beans.

LIMA BEAN AND RICE CHOLLENT

Cook lima beans according to the above recipe. Cook rice kasha as directed (see recipe p. 79). Before the rice kasha is quite done, add a cup of the kasha to pot with the beans. Add another cup of water and place in oven for the final l1/2 hours.

NAVY BEAN AND BARLEY CHOLLENT

1  lb. (or more) flanken (sufficient to make a main meat dish)

2  cs. navy beans

1 onion

1 stalk celery

1 small green pepper

1  T. salt

Dash of pepper

2  Ts. chicken fat

1 c. large barley

1 c. tomato juice

1 c. water

Cut onion, celery and green pepper into small pieces, and sauté lightly. Trim meat of all fat. Raise flame, sauté meat until seared on all sides, add all other ingredients except beans and barley. Bring to a boil, skim, and lower flame. Add the beans and cover. Cook for about 1 hour; add the barley and a little more water if needed, and cook for 1/2 hours, then put into moderate, 350°, oven and cook for 11/2 hours. See that the beans are always kept moist while cooking.

POTATO CHOLLENT

1 lb. (or more) flanken 1 onion (minced)

1  T. salt

Dash of pepper

2  Ts. chicken fat

2 lbs. potatoes

1 c. water

1 c. tomato juice

Sauté onion lightly in fat. Make flame high. Trim meat of all fat and sear on all sides in the sautéed mixture. Cut potatoes into chunks, add potatoes and all other ingredi­ents. Bring to a boil, lower flame, cook on low flame for about 1 hour, adding water as needed. Then put in mod­erate, 350°, oven for 1 hour more.

BROWN KASHA CHOLLENT

1 lb. (or more) flanken

1 onion (minced)

1 T. salt

Dash of pepper

1 c. coarse buckwheat groats

1 qt. water

1 c. tomato juice

1 c. pea beans

Soak beans overnight. Wash and place in a quart of water. Trim meat of all fat. Put the meat and all other ingredients together and cook on low flame for about an hour.

Make brown kasha according to the recipe (see p. 78). Add 1 c. cooked brown kasha to the beans and a little water if needed. Put into moderate, 350°, oven for 1 hour.

To the same recipe as given above, add 1 c. of cooked rice kasha before putting in oven and you have a varied chollent.

CARROT, PRUNE AND POTATO TZIMMES

1 lb. carrots

11/2 lbs. flanken

1/2 lb. sour prunes (dry)

3 white potatoes

3 sweet potatoes

2 Ts. chicken fat

1 medium onion

1 T. salt

1 c. water

1  c. tomato juice

2  Ts. honey

1/4 c. brown sugar

3 Ts. sugar

Trim meat of all fat. Shred carrots and onion and sauté in chicken fat. Cut potatoes into medium-sized chunks. Put meat at bottom of pot, then arrange layers of potatoes, prunes, sweet potatoes and all other ingredients and sim­mer about 11/2 hours.

Put 3 Ts. sugar and 2 Ts. water on high flame—get the sugar burned—then pour 1/2 c. cold water over the burned sugar and add the liquid to the tzimmes before putting tzimmes into moderate, 375°, oven for 11/2 hours.

CARROT AND SWEET POTATO TZIMMES

1  lb. (or more) flanken

2  lbs. carrots

3  sweet potatoes

2 Ts. honey

1/4 c. brown sugar

1 t. salt

Dash of pepper

1  c. water

1/2 c. tomato juice

2  Ts. chicken fat

1 T. flour

1/3 c. cold water

Trim meat of all fat. Sauté minced onion in fat. On high flame, sear meat on all sides in the sautéed onion. Lower flame; add all other ingredients except the flour and cold water, and cook for 1 hour. Remove meat from tzimmes, thicken with flour and cold water, simmer with thickening for 10 minutes, keep shaking pot so that the flour paste does not settle to the bottom. Put meat back, and place in moderate, 375°, oven (covered) for 1 hour. Before putting tzimmes into oven make sure it has enough juice so as not to be too dry. Add a little more water if necessary.

NOODLE CASSEROLE

1/2 lb. broad noodles

1  large onion

2  cs. cabbage

6 Ts. chicken £at

1  t. salt

Dash o£ pepper

2  cs. cooked chicken

1 large onion

1 stalk celery

1 small green pepper

1 t. salt

Dash of pepper

1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms (or 1 small can)

1/2  c. water

1/2 c. tomato juice

1 T. flour

1/3 c. cold water (for thickening)

Shred onion and cabbage, put into 2 Ts. fat and fry until light brown. Add salt and pepper and let stand. Boil noodles in plenty of water for 15 minutes, drain in colan­der, gently rinse with cold water, add to the sautéed mix­ture and season.

Cut up onion, celery and green pepper into small pieces and sauté in 2 Ts. fat. Boil mushrooms in plenty of water, adding 1 T. salt to the water, for 15 minutes. Cool, cut off tips and slice. Cut cooked chicken into small pieces, add mushrooms, chicken, water, tomato juice and cook for 1/2 hour, then thicken with flour and cold water.

Heat 2 Ts. fat in a casserole. Put half of the noodle mix­ture into heated casserole; add the chicken and mush­rooms. Put the rest of the noodles on top, sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake for 1/2 hour in moderately hot, 400°, oven.

RICE AND CHICKEN CASSEROLE

2  cs. cabbage (shredded)

1 large onion and

1 medium onion

4 Ts. chicken fat

1 t. salt

Dash of pepper

1  c. rice

3  eggs

2  cs. cooked chicken or veal

3  cs. water

Sauté shredded cabbage and large onion in 2 Ts. chicken fat until almost brown, add rice, salt and water and bring to a boil on high flame. Lower flame, cover pot, and let cook until all the water is absorbed. Heat the remaining fat, beat eggs well and pour into the heated fat a little at a time, stirring constantly. Then cut up remaining onion into small pieces, add to the egg and fat; stir for about 5 minutes, then add your chicken (cut up into small pieces). Lower flame and cook for 10 minutes. Combine with the rice. Put into casserole (mix well before doing so) and put into moderate, 350°, oven for about 15 minutes.

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