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my buba’s cholent words dani lurie My buba, or grandmother, grew up in the East End of London in the 1940s. Back then it was primarily a Jewish area, bustling with synagogues and kosher delis. By the 1950s, the Jewish population had mostly migrated to the suburbs, making way for the next group to settle. You can find that legacy today in the few beigel shops that nestle between the curry restaurants and chic cafés of Brick Lane. My buba tells the story of a traditional dish called cholent: a warm, stodgy casserole-type dish, made of meat and vegetables. It is the ultimate comfort food. She talks about Foxing’s Bakery, which sat at the top end of Bursalem Street, off Hessal Street market, where she lived. It was open every day of the week except Saturdays on account of the Jewish Sabbath, the weekly day of rest that runs from sundown on Friday until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday evening. Jewish religious law dictates that nothing should be ‘created’ or ‘destroyed’ on the Sabbath, so observing it means not turning anything on or off, including stoves, ovens and other kitchen equipment. Obviously this poses a problem for the making of delicious hot meals that can be served at the traditional Saturday family lunch. That’s where cholent comes in. “Between four and five o’clock on Friday nights, there’d be people lining up the street outside Foxing’s, holding pots of all sizes, waiting to make their way into the bakery. The pots were full of an uncooked ensemble of meat, beans, carrots, potatoes and onions covered in batter. The patrons would hand in their pot and receive half a ticket. The other half stayed with their pot, which would be put in the enormous ovens and left to cook slowly right through the night. At noon on Saturday, the big children would be sent down the street to pick up the pots. I would see them all marching along, ready for lunch, their mouths watering. “For Orthodox Jewish families, who would not light a fire on the Sabbath, this gave them a hot meal on a cold day. This is my mother’s recipe for cholent. She would make it in our own oven and, when we awoke on Saturday morning, the smell went right through the house. We couldn’t wait for lunch. I’ve never forgotten the taste. From an early age, I learned how to make this food of the gods by watching her do it.” This recipe serves ten. Cholent can be made in a slow-cooker instead of an oven but you’ll need to make the quantities proportionately smaller. My buba also says: “The amounts depend on how many people are there at the table to eat it. It’s hard to make a small cholent because it would dry up in the cooking. The best time to put it in the oven is at six o’clock in the evening, to be eaten for lunch the next day.”
For the stew 1 whole large potato for each person 1-2½kg beef 1 piece of brisket or chuck (a fatty meat) 500g dried butter beans 3 onions, chopped 5 small carrots, whole water or beef stock to fill the pot salt and pepper, to taste bay leaves and black peppers in a muslin bag (optional)
For the batter 6 large eggs 375ml vegetable oil 750g plain flour 1 small onion, grated salt and pepper, to taste 500ml water
One. Preheat the oven to 200˚C/Gas Mark 6. If you’re using a slowcooker, preheat to 120˚C. Have a large, oven-proof pot ready. A ceramic slow-cooker pot works well even if you’re using the oven. Two. Put the chopped onions and butter beans into the pot and the potatoes around the edge, making a well for the meat. Add the meat and brisket. Cover over with carrots. Three. Season with salt and pepper. Add bay leaves and black peppers in a muslin bag. Four. Fill up three-quarters of the pot with water or beef stock. Five. Now make the batter. Beat the eggs together with the vegetable oil. Six. Mix in the flour, then add the grated onion. Season with salt and pepper. Seven. Stir the water into the batter. The mixture should be liquid but firm. Eight. Spread the mixture over the cholent, covering all the ingredients and making a lid of batter. Nine. Cover the pot with silver foil or brown paper tied with string. Put into the hot oven for one hour. Ten. After one hour, turn the oven heat down to 120˚C or just below Gas Mark ½, if you’re using a gas oven. If you’re using a slow-cooker, leave cooking at the same setting. Let the cholent cook overnight for 12 hours. If you have halved the ingredients, cook for 6 to 8 hours. Eleven. Halfway through the cooking time, or in the early morning if you’re making it overnight, check to see if the pot has run dry. You may need to top it up by adding more water.
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my buba’s cholent words dani lurie My buba, or grandmother, grew up in the East End of London in the 1940s. Back then it was primarily a Jewish area, bustling with synagogues and kosher delis. By the 1950s, the Jewish population had mostly migrated to the suburbs, making way for the next group to settle. You can find that legacy today in the few beigel shops that nestle between the curry restaurants and chic cafés of Brick Lane. My buba tells the story of a traditional dish called cholent: a warm, stodgy casserole-type dish, made of meat and vegetables. It is the ultimate comfort food. She talks about Foxing’s Bakery, which sat at the top end of Bursalem Street, off Hessal Street market, where she lived. It was open every day of the week except Saturdays on account of the Jewish Sabbath, the weekly day of rest that runs from sundown on Friday until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday evening. Jewish religious law dictates that nothing should be ‘created’ or ‘destroyed’ on the Sabbath, so observing it means not turning anything on or off, including stoves, ovens and other kitchen equipment. Obviously this poses a problem for the making of delicious hot meals that can be served at the traditional Saturday family lunch. That’s where cholent comes in. “Between four and five o’clock on Friday nights, there’d be people lining up the street outside Foxing’s, holding pots of all sizes, waiting to make their way into the bakery. The pots were full of an uncooked ensemble of meat, beans, carrots, potatoes and onions covered in batter. The patrons would hand in their pot and receive half a ticket. The other half stayed with their pot, which would be put in the enormous ovens and left to cook slowly right through the night. At noon on Saturday, the big children would be sent down the street to pick up the pots. I would see them all marching along, ready for lunch, their mouths watering. “For Orthodox Jewish families, who would not light a fire on the Sabbath, this gave them a hot meal on a cold day. This is my mother’s recipe for cholent. She would make it in our own oven and, when we awoke on Saturday morning, the smell went right through the house. We couldn’t wait for lunch. I’ve never forgotten the taste. From an early age, I learned how to make this food of the gods by watching her do it.” This recipe serves ten. Cholent can be made in a slow-cooker instead of an oven but you’ll need to make the quantities proportionately smaller. My buba also says: “The amounts depend on how many people are there at the table to eat it. It’s hard to make a small cholent because it would dry up in the cooking. The best time to put it in the oven is at six o’clock in the evening, to be eaten for lunch the next day.”
For the stew 1 whole large potato for each person 1-2½kg beef 1 piece of brisket or chuck (a fatty meat) 500g dried butter beans 3 onions, chopped 5 small carrots, whole water or beef stock to fill the pot salt and pepper, to taste bay leaves and black peppers in a muslin bag (optional)
For the batter 6 large eggs 375ml vegetable oil 750g plain flour 1 small onion, grated salt and pepper, to taste 500ml water
One. Preheat the oven to 200˚C/Gas Mark 6. If you’re using a slowcooker, preheat to 120˚C. Have a large, oven-proof pot ready. A ceramic slow-cooker pot works well even if you’re using the oven. Two. Put the chopped onions and butter beans into the pot and the potatoes around the edge, making a well for the meat. Add the meat and brisket. Cover over with carrots. Three. Season with salt and pepper. Add bay leaves and black peppers in a muslin bag. Four. Fill up three-quarters of the pot with water or beef stock. Five. Now make the batter. Beat the eggs together with the vegetable oil. Six. Mix in the flour, then add the grated onion. Season with salt and pepper. Seven. Stir the water into the batter. The mixture should be liquid but firm. Eight. Spread the mixture over the cholent, covering all the ingredients and making a lid of batter. Nine. Cover the pot with silver foil or brown paper tied with string. Put into the hot oven for one hour. Ten. After one hour, turn the oven heat down to 120˚C or just below Gas Mark ½, if you’re using a gas oven. If you’re using a slow-cooker, leave cooking at the same setting. Let the cholent cook overnight for 12 hours. If you have halved the ingredients, cook for 6 to 8 hours. Eleven. Halfway through the cooking time, or in the early morning if you’re making it overnight, check to see if the pot has run dry. You may need to top it up by adding more water.
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