Like tsimmes (page 502), this recipe was originally designed to sit in an oven after a fire had been built, cooking slowly overnight and even into the next day to provide a hot Sabbath meal for Jews who were not allowed to (actively) cook after sunset on Friday. Provided you have no such restrictions, it’s a little easier to make cholent, a wonderful stew of any meat, beans, barley, and potatoes; I believe it’s especially good with limas, which in any case are traditional in at least parts of Europe. Other cuts of meat you can use here: lamb shoulder is also good and, if you’re not too worried about tradition, so is pork shoulder.

　　

Ingredients

makes 8 servings

　　1 pound dried lima or other white beans

　　2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

　　3 pounds beef brisket or boneless beef chuck, cut into large chunks

　　Salt and black pepper to taste

　　2 large onions, roughly chopped

　　5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

　　1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger or 1 teaspoon ground

　　1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

　　1 teaspoon ground cardamom

　　1 bay leaf

　　8 small or 4 medium waxy potatoes, peeled, halved if medium-sized

　　1/2 cup pearl barley or kasha

　　

Step 1

Soak the beans overnight or for several hours if time allows; drain.

　　

Step 2

Put the oil in a large deep skillet or flameproof casserole with a lid over medium-high heat. A couple of minutes later, add the meat and cook, turning as necessary, to brown the meat on all sides. This will take at least 10 minutes and probably longer; sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper as it browns. Remove the meat and turn the heat to medium. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they wilt and begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaf, and some more salt and pepper and cook, stirring, for about a minute. Add the beans, potatoes, barley if you are using it, and water to cover.

　　

Step 3

Bring to a boil, then cover and adjust the heat so the mixture simmers as slowly as possible, with just a few bubbles rising to the surface each second. Cook for 3 hours or preferably longer, until all the ingredients are very tender. (You can also cook in a 250°F oven overnight.) If you are using kasha, add it during the last hour of cooking. Taste and adjust the seasoning and serve in bowls or cover and refrigerate for up to a day before reheating, adding a little more water to thin the stew if necessary.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.