Best Tzimmes for the Best New Year!

 

While Rosh Hashanah has passed quite some time ago, that doesn’t mean we have to stop celebrating the traditional New Year. Especially with some delicious, staple holiday food in the mix! If you’re having a New Years Day celebration, a January birthday, or you’d just like to have some extra company over for Shabbat, this Tzimmes recipe is to die for! The best part is that this recipe can be completely cooled down and frozen – which is ideal if you’re the type of person who likes to plan ahead. The chefs at Lester Senior Living recommend starting this recipe at least a day before you’re ready to serve guests. 

Ingredients for Tzimmes: 

  • Sweet potatoes (approx. 4 lbs)
  • Russet potatoes (approx. 2 lbs)
  • Flanken (approx. 3 lbs)
  • Baby carrots (approx. 1 lb or 1 bag)
  • Pitted prunes (1 container)
  • Brown sugar (¾ cup more or less depending on your taste)
  • Lemon juice (½ cup more or less depending on your taste) 

Directions to Make Tzimmes: 

  1. Grab a pot that’s deep enough to layer different ingredients. Next, rinse your sweet potatoes and russet potatoes and slice them into 1 in, chunks. 
  2. Place 1 or 2 pieces of the flanken at the bottom of the pot. Then, scatter about half of the sweet potatoes, russet potatoes, prunes and carrots over the flanken. 
  3. Sprinkle half of the brown sugar and freshly squeezed lemon juice over top. 
  4. Grab the remaining flanken, and place it in the pot so it’s covering all the ingredients you’ve added so far. 
  5. Fill the pot with water until all the ingredients are barely covered and bring it to a boil on the stove. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer. 
  6. Cover the pot with a lid and let it simmer for about 90 minutes. Once done, remove the pot from the heat and let it cool. 
  7. You’ll notice that a gravy has formed in the pot. Carefully transfer the meat, potatoes, prunes and carrots to a separate oven-safe dish. Then, grab another container to transfer your gravy. Put both of these containers in the fridge overnight. 
  8. The next morning, set your oven to 375 and pour the gravy over your oven-safe dish of meat, potatoes, prunes and carrots. BUT FIRST, remove the thick layer of fat that will have formed on top of the gravy overnight. You may also want to taste test the gravy and consider adding more brown sugar or lemon depending on your preference. 
  9. Place the tzimmes in the oven and let it bake for 2-3 hours uncovered. Make sure you baste constantly to ensure the gravy has thickened and glazed the tzimmes. If the top layer starts to look too browned, you can cover the dish lightly with foil and continue to cook. 
  10. Serve the tzimmes hot to your guests and enjoy! 

Serving Tzimmes and other Traditional Israeli Fare to Seniors in Morris County

While Lester Senior Living welcomes seniors of all faiths, we do stay true to our roots in Judaism. Which means we incorporate Jewish traditions into our care model. Whether that’s through on-site synagogue services or the food that’s served, we do our best to keep Judaism alive and thriving in our senior community! Our culinary trained chefs are constantly trying out new recipes, but also make sure to include staple Israeli foods each month like tzimmes, matzo ball soup and challah bread – to name a few. 

To learn more about how we incorporate the Jewish tradition at Lester Senior Living in Morris County or our other senior communities in NJ, please give us a call or visit our website at: https://jchcorp.org

*Recipe was based off of the High Holiday Cookbook by Recustom. 

Original Source: https://jchcorp.org/best-tzimmes-for-the-best-new-year/

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