Hungarian Cholent

Name: Hungarian Cholent
Yield: Serves Four to Six
Cuisine: Hungarian
Ingredients: salt and ground black pepper; a handful of rice (optional); kishke or helzel (optional); 1 litre/1¾ pints/4 cups water and 500 ml/17 fl oz/2¼ cups beef stock or 1.5 litres/2½ pints/6¼ cups water and 1–2 stock (bouillon) cubes; 4–6 eggs; 250 g/9 oz stewing beef; 250 g/9 oz piece of smoked beef; 500 g/1¼ lb beef brisket, whole or cut into chunks; 2–3 baking potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks and 1 potato, sliced (optional); 1 small turnip, diced; 1 celery stick, chopped; 3 carrots, sliced; 2–3 pinches of cayenne pepper; 400 g/14 oz can chopped tomatoes; 130 g/4½ oz pearl barley; 25 ml/1½ tbsp paprika; 2 onions, chopped; 14 garlic cloves, half chopped and half left whole; 90 ml/6 tbsp rendered chicken fat, goose fat, duck fat or olive oil; 250 g/9 oz/1⅓ cups white haricot (navy) or butter (lima) beans, soaked in water overnight

Preparation info

Serves
Four to Six

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Complete Guide to Traditional Jewish Cooking

By Marlena Spieler

Published 2016

About

A cholent is a long-simmered or baked dish of beans, grains, meats and vegetables, left in a warm oven overnight or for the afternoon. It is eaten in all regions of Eastern and Central Europe when the family comes home from Synagogue.

Ingredients

250 g/9 oz/1⅓ cups white haricot (navy) or butter (lima) beans, so

Europe
Hungary
Main course
Eastern Europe

Method

Preheat the oven to 120°C/250°F/Gas ½. Drain the beans. Heat the fat or oil in a flameproof casserole, add the onions and chopped garlic and cook for 5 m