Author Notes
Lentils are so comforting. Deli food is warming. So if there was ever a bowl full of soul this just might be it. I am hesitant to call this dish cholent but maybe should call it hamin. Hamin would more than likely have chicken in it than beef and would be served along side rice instead of barley. At this point in my research on cholent I have seen as many combinations as pizza has pizza toppings so the only thing left to answer is do you cook it from Friday to Saturday in observance of the Sabbath. Well that is up to you. I don't because this version cooks up quick and easy and I like cholent anytime. —thirschfeld
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Ingredients
- For the cholent
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1
chicken, 3 to 4 pounds, cut into 10 pieces, skin removed
-
1 1/2 tablespoons
olive oil
-
6
carrots, peeled, cut into 1 inch pieces
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4
celery stalks, cleaned, cut into 1 inch pieces
-
1 cup
onions, small dice
-
1/4 cup
garlic, peeled and sliced thinly
-
1
cinnamon stick, 3 inches long
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1 tablespoon
fresh rosemary, minced
-
2
bay leaves
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1 tablespoon
tomato paste
-
8
yukon gold potatoes, peeled
-
3/4 cup
Umbrian or du Puy lentils
-
1 cup
dry white wine
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2 1/2 cups
water
-
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
-
1 tablespoon
flat leaf parsley, minced
- For the millet
-
2 tablespoons
shallots, minced
-
1 cup
millet
-
5 cups
water
-
1 tablespoon
flat leaf parsley, minced
-
kosher salt and fresh ground white pepper
Directions
-
Season the chicken on all sides with salt and pepper. Heat a 4 quart Dutch oven over high heat. Add the olive oil and then brown the chicken on all sides lowering the heat as necessary to keep the fond in the bottom of the pan from burning. Remove the pieces from the pot.
-
Add the onions, carrot and celery and saute until they take on some color. Add the garlic, cinnamon, bay leaves and rosemary. Clean a spot on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon and drop the tomato paste onto it and let it caramelize for a second or two. Stir the pot.
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Add the white wine and let the alcohol burn off. Add the water and the lentils. Top with the chicken and snuggle in the potatoes. Season with white pepper only. You don't want to salt it until the end or the lentils will take longer to cook.
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Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Set a timer for 50 minutes.
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Place a 2 quart sauce pan over medium heat. Add a glug of olive oil and sweat the shallots. Add the millet and stir to coat it with the oil. Season it with salt and pepper. Add the water and bring the pot to a boil.
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Reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for thirty minutes or until tender to the tooth. Then check and stir the cholent and make sure it is coming along nicely and reduce or turn up the heat as necessary.
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When the millet becomes tender drain it in a colander and then dump it back into the pan. Stir in the parsley.
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Make sure the potatoes are cooked through and the chicken is tender. Season with salt, stir in the parsley, and taste. Adjust the seasoning and then serve with sides of millet.
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