When I first started dating Donald in the mid 70s, his Mom used to make dinner for me from time to time, and one evening she served two things I'd never had before -- a salad with Green Goddess dressing, which I thought amazing, and tsimmes. The Green Goddess is a story for another time; tonight I'm writing to tell you about tsimmes.
Until that evening, I couldn't have imagined what magic would be made with succulent stewed chuck roast, prunes, and sweet potatoes. Sure, my Dad would add pineapple to beef for a grilled teriyaki steak-on-a-stick in the summer, but those cubes of alternating salty/dry and sweet/tart morsels were a world away from the voluptuousness of tsimmes glistening on my plate on a cold winter night. Tsimmes is soul food of the highest and most immediate order for me.
My mother-in-law left this world decades ago, but I have Donald to carry on his Mom's cooking for me, albeit with more refined technique and presentation. This is a meal that transports me in communion with centuries of Eastern European hearths. If warms my home, I share it now to warm yours.
Tsimmes, a Yiddish word for "fuss" or "commotion," embodies the essence of Eastern-European Jewish cuisine. The recipe's roots harken to medieval Germany, where Jewish communities incorporated available vegetables and dried fruits into their cooking. It was primarily a sweet dish, reflecting the desire for sweetness on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, symbolizing a sweet and prosperous year ahead.
As Jewish communities migrated across Europe and beyond, tsimmes adapted to local ingredients and culinary traditions. In Eastern Europe, it evolved into a more savory dish, incorporating beef or chicken. The arrival of Ashkenazi Jews in North America further diversified tsimmes with the addition of sweet potatoes and other New World ingredients.
I jokingly say this is not your mother's tsimmes because Donald enriches the base with a mirepoix which he later removes once spent, he de-fats the entire stew, and generally presents this simple dish in a way that enhances the visual appeal adding clarity in color and texture while keeping its soul inviolate.
This is not an olive oil-centric recipe, however, a bissel EVOO as a drizzle can be quite nice.
Ingredients
The Day Before Serving
1 lb Beef (chuck or brisket) cut into 1 inch cubes (See footnote)
6 Tbsp Lucero Olive Oil
3” cinnamon stick
2 medium carrots, cut into a small dice
2 medium celery stalks, cut into a small dice
1 small onion, cut into a small dice
4 cups beef stock (okay to substitute chicken stock)
The Next Day Before Serving
3 oz pitted California prunes
8 oz garnet or jeweled yams (aka sweet potatoes), diced into ½ inch cubes
Heat 3 Tbsp of olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium heat until it shimmers, then add the beef. Cook until all sides are well browned, about 20 minutes. Remove the beef to a plate and set aside. Drain the oil and rendered beef fat from the pan and discard.
In the same pan continuing on medium heat add the rest of the oil and heat to a shimmer. Add the diced carrots, celery, onions, and cinnamon stick. Slowly fry this mixture until it’s golden brown. Stir every few minutes to ensure even browning.
Once the mixture is golden brown, add the meat back in and then the stock. Bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer on low for 2 to 3 hours or until the meat is very tender but still holds its shape.
Let cool and refrigerate overnight.
The Next Day Before Serving
Remove the fat that formed on the top of the cold stew.
Reheat the mixture on medium heat and once again remove the meat to a plate. Strain the stewed vegetables through a sieve and press as much of the liquid out of them and into a sautê pan as you’re able. Reserve the vegetables (spent mire poix) for another use or discard.
Add the prunes, sweet potatoes, yellow potatoes, carrots, and cooked meat to the liquid. bring to a simmer and cover. Simmer for about 25 minutes or until the vegetables are fork tender.
Salt to taste and serve.
Recipe Note
A quick note about beef: it needs to have some fat and collagen to keep it tender when being stewed for a long time. If you use lean meat the result will be very dry.
Hola Señora Gail, both are excellent questions, so I spoke to Donald and here is what he had to say:
“The reason I recommend discarding the fat after browning the meat is because it’s mostly beef fat, and that’s not a healthy fat. It also makes the resulting stew feel too fatty in the end. Yes, I do indicate that folks should use EVOO to brown the beef, however, I also advise that they select beef with some fat because of the long braise, and fat does add flavor. As a result, there will be a good amount of beef fat in the pan, and oftentimes that fat and oil can take on a burnt taste from browning. You’ll note that I also instruct you to skim off the cold fat after refrigerating the stew. That’s because, depending on how fatty the beef was, there still could be a good amount of fat that rises to the top after braising.
The cinnamon in the mirepoix won’t be very strong so is ok for a beef stock; it might be a little too noticeable for a light chicken or veg stock. It is also nice added to a hearty soup like minestrone or a tomato meet sauce. The only reason I suggest taking it out is for looks. Leaving it in will make the stew cloudy as apposed to glossy and translucent. It does have a good flavor so if you want a more rustic stew it is okay to leave it in."
I hope that’s helpful! Please do be in touch should you have further questions.
Gail on December 14, 2023
Hi Liz, can you ask Donald:
1. In step 1 he advises to discard the oil and rendered fat. And then in step 2 to add more oil to the pan. My question – is there a reason to discard the original oil? Wouldn’t that be full of flavor?
2. On the day of serving- does he think I could use the mire poix in a vegetable/beef stock or would the flavor of the cinnamon stick be too powerful?
Thanks ! Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas!!
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Hola Señora Gail, both are excellent questions, so I spoke to Donald and here is what he had to say:
“The reason I recommend discarding the fat after browning the meat is because it’s mostly beef fat, and that’s not a healthy fat. It also makes the resulting stew feel too fatty in the end. Yes, I do indicate that folks should use EVOO to brown the beef, however, I also advise that they select beef with some fat because of the long braise, and fat does add flavor. As a result, there will be a good amount of beef fat in the pan, and oftentimes that fat and oil can take on a burnt taste from browning. You’ll note that I also instruct you to skim off the cold fat after refrigerating the stew. That’s because, depending on how fatty the beef was, there still could be a good amount of fat that rises to the top after braising.
The cinnamon in the mirepoix won’t be very strong so is ok for a beef stock; it might be a little too noticeable for a light chicken or veg stock. It is also nice added to a hearty soup like minestrone or a tomato meet sauce. The only reason I suggest taking it out is for looks. Leaving it in will make the stew cloudy as apposed to glossy and translucent. It does have a good flavor so if you want a more rustic stew it is okay to leave it in."
I hope that’s helpful! Please do be in touch should you have further questions.
Hi Liz, can you ask Donald:
1. In step 1 he advises to discard the oil and rendered fat. And then in step 2 to add more oil to the pan. My question – is there a reason to discard the original oil? Wouldn’t that be full of flavor?
2. On the day of serving- does he think I could use the mire poix in a vegetable/beef stock or would the flavor of the cinnamon stick be too powerful?
Thanks ! Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas!!