Tzimmes

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From our late summer 2007 newsletter

With the harvest season upon us, it is time to think of recipes for fall. Tzimmes (also spelled “tsimmes”) is a traditional Jewish casserole: a combination of sweet potatoes, carrots, prunes and sometimes brisket cooked slowly over low heat.(See the newsletter this came from.)

This sweet Eastern European dish is served as part of the meal for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which occurs in late summer or early fall. The tradition is to eat sweet and honey-flavored dishes so as to ensure a sweet new year. While in Yidddish slang, the word tzimmes has also come to mean a complicated chore or fuss, as in “making a tzimmes” over something, this version of the recipe is not at all complicated.

Serves 4

Ingredients

5   large carrots, peeled and cut up into 1 inch slices
1 lb sweet potatoes (about 2 medium) peeled and cut  into 1-inch cubes
1    large apple, peeled, cored, cut up into 2 inch slices
½  cup raisins or pitted prunes
3 T  honey
¼ t cinnamon
¼ t  nutmeg
1 c  orange juice
     Butter to taste (optional)

Directions

1. Cook the carrots and sweet potatoes in boiling water covered for 10 minutes until barely tender. Drain.
2. Preheat the over to 350 degrees.
3. Combine the cooked carrots and sweet potatoes with all the remaining ingredients, except the butter.
4. Turn the mixture into a shallow 3-quart baking dish. Dot the top with butter, bake for 15 minutes and stir; continue baking another 15 minutes or until tender.
   

This recipe should be made a day or two ahead, refrigerated, and reheated before serving.

From Laurie Levy

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