4 Servings
2 Hours, 20 Minutes
Allergens
Submitted by Linda Razel Shlezinger
My husband insists on cholent and I don’t like eating heavy meals during the day. Over the years, I have tried several ideas and this is my current favorite.
It’s much lighter than a regular cholent, using whole grains and sweet potatoes.
The quantities I am giving in this recipe are for 4 servings. My family consists of small eaters. Other families may eat more. Sometimes people also serve schnitzel or cold cuts for Shabbos lunch and the cholent is not the only main dish.
It’s wonderful to walk away from the table and not feel like a stuffed turkey!
Another thing to note about a cholent recipe is that measurements do not have to be exact. Ingredients and spices can be adjusted according to taste.
This recipe also makes an excellent supper as it is entirely cooked before it’s put on the blech. As an evening meal, I would estimate more turkey per person.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place turkey into Pyrex or other baking pan. Cut onion into quarters or eighths and position around turkey. Add garlic cloves. (If you split the garlic cloves and rub into the turkey, you can eliminate using granulated garlic.)
Sprinkle (somewhat generously) spices onto turkey and drizzle olive oil over turkey and onions.
Bake , uncovered, in hot oven (375 – 400 degrees F) for 1-2 hours until turkey is browned/crispy and sweet potatoes are soft (in other words, until all is edible).
You can turn over turkey in the middle – though it is not necessary. You can also baste pan ingredients with oil in pan.
Cut sweet potatoes into large chunks and place around turkey. Season sweet potatoes with allspice/cinnamon/nutmeg. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over sweet potatoes.
Meanwhile, on the stove top, put a thin layer of oil (canola or sunflower or oil spray) into your cholent pan. Add chopped onions and fry until slightly browned.
Add grains and continue sautéing, stirring occasionally for a few minutes (maybe 5).
Add salt and pepper plus 2 cups of boiling water. Cook until water is absorbed. Grains should be edible, slightly al dente. Add additional water if necessary. Cooking time for grains may be 35 – 45 minutes.
If turkey-sweet potatoes aren’t ready yet, you can close the flame under the grain mixture until turkey is ready to come out of the oven and be added to cholent pot.
Remove turkey pan from oven when done. Place baked turkey, onions and sweet potatoes into pot on top of cooked grain mixture. VERY IMPORTANT: Pour all drippings from pan into cholent.
At this point, you can add an additional cup (more or less as necessary) of water, bring to a boil and put onto blech.
Love this recipe!! I discovered it a few months ago and have been making it ever since. My husband is allergic to beef so I was searching for a good alternative to Cholent, and this is perfect. I play around with the spices and use different grains, and usually add cholent bean mix. Recipe is a winner