Cholentpalooza

November 21, 2008 - 11:14 AM by Harry

Ashkenazi cholentNow that the winter months are upon us once again, it’s time to bust out the old crock pot. The heavy stew that we call hamin or cholent might not have been so appropriate during the heat of the summer, when the manner in which it sits in the stomach can become cumbersome (although many argue that it should be served 52 Saturdays a year), but now pretty much all of us can agree to dig in.

It’s the definitive savory, hot, dense pan-Jewish comfort food, and it always has been. When you are forbidden by your Deity for thousands of years to light a fire or cook on Shabbat morning, loading up a pot with savory goodness on Friday afternoon and praying for a yummy mush to come off the fire 30 or so hours later made a lot of sense. Even the goyim agree that slow-cooked stews are the way to go.

In my home, when late February rolls around and we start to get a little less excited about the standard Ashkenaz combination of barley, beans, potatoes, onions, garlic, cubed beef and our off-the-record blend of seasonings, we sometimes opt for alternate recipes, like pseudo-East Asian cholent (heavy on the shitake mushrooms, green beans, sesame oil and soy sauce) or pseudo-Hindu cholent (coconut milk, whole cinnamon sticks, many sweet potatoes and no meat).

Others keep cholent new by adding secret ingredients, such as lamb fat (gives the whole thing a glossy coating of sinful flavor), whole heads of garlic (fun to peel and spread on bread), beer, hot dogs and the like. There are many recipe variations out there.

Now Netanya’s Blue Bay Hotel is gearing up for its first annual Hamin Festival, a celebration of the onset of cholent season. With festivals – especially those built around consumerist themes – popping up across the land at an alarming clip, why shouldn’t they? From 11 a.m. through 2 p.m. on each Saturday in December and January, Blue Bay is set to offer a cornicopia of hamin options, including traditional recipes from the Ashkenazi shtetl, Persia, Morocco and even Libya (they put beets in it!).

There will even be traditional ethnic musical performances (bouzouki, oud and wind instruments abound) to enhance the flavors, and when the weather permits, guests will be invited to sit outdoors, facing the sea. Admission costs NIS 59 for adults (children pay slightly less, dessert costs slightly more), and there are takeout options as well.

In the Simpsons episode “Homerpalooza,” Homer goes on a festival tour thanks to his formidable stomach. If he thinks getting shot in the belly with a cannon makes for a difficult yet exhilarating gastronomical festival experience, he should try visiting the Blue Bay Hotel over nine upcoming Saturdays in a row.

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Comments

4 Comments on Cholentpalooza

  1. Katherine on Fri, Nov 21st 2008 6:40 PM

    2. off topic, but I couldn’t not comment. There’s something about living in Israel which makes people lose their politeness/political correctness. In ordinary English, goyim is not actually a complimentary word. Kind of like saying, even the niggers agree. Offended? me too!

  2. Jeanne on Sat, Nov 22nd 2008 3:45 AM

    3. Okay, so now you have encouraged me to get out my slow cooker and look up yummy recipes. I love that the house smells good all day when you start a meal in the morning. Sort of gives you plenty of time to work up an appetite. The chicken looks wonderful.

  3. Harry on Sun, Nov 23rd 2008 4:28 PM

    4. I apologize if my use of the word “goyim” was offensive. I truly meant it as a term of endearment and not as anything derogatory. The word literally means “the nations” – a reference simply to the “other” that ought not to hold as much baggage as it apparently does. Some of my best friends are gentiles.

  4. Katherine on Mon, Nov 24th 2008 10:36 PM

    5. I know you didn’t mean it badly Harry, and I also know what the word means. It’s just that the use of it really grates me – I don’t know if it would be used so casually outside of Israel, as I think many would find it offensive. Ag, this is just my personal axe I like to grind occasionally :)

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