Cholent is a traditional Jewish stew made of meat, beans and barley. My mom’s version from Poland had onions, barley, white beans and osso bucco beef (the best part was the marrow in it). She would put all the ingredients in a huge heavy ceramic pot and it would cook in slow heat all night.
There are many variations of the dish, which is standard in both the Ashkenazi and Sephardi kitchens. Sephardi-style hamin often uses rice or wheat kernels and chickpeas instead of beans and barley, and chicken instead of beef. A traditional Sephardi addition is whole eggs in the shell, which turn brown overnight. Ashkenazi cholent often contains kishke or helzel.
I’m making some using my Mom’s recipe tonight so we can enjoy it tomorrow for lunch and then take a long siesta!
