Cholent – A Traditional Slow Cooked Dish

I find interesting recipes not only during my travels, but sometimes also during my research when I prepare materials for my articles for various magazines.
The year 2025 is the year of Johann Strauss the Younger. This composer was born 200 years ago in Vienna. Vienna has prepared for this anniversary and offers various events throughout the year, not only for waltz lovers. And so I, too, became more involved with the history of the Strauss family.
The Strauss family came to Vienna from Hungary and, like most Viennese Jews, settled in Leopoldstadt. This neighborhood – a patch of land between the Danube Canal and the Danube River – was nicknamed Matzo Island after the traditional Jewish bread. Johann’s grandfather, Franz Borgias Strauss, ran the St. Florian’s Tavern here. Many of the inhabitants of this district earned very little money, so they became musicians in the evenings and created a cheerful atmosphere in the local pubs for a few kreutzers or at least a warm dinner. They were called Bratlgeiger, and these musicians became a model for Franz’s son Johann. The boy listened to what they played and then played the same tunes on his violin. When he was nine years old, his mother died, and three years later, they pulled his drowned father from the Danube. Johann was given Anton Müller as his guardian, who taught him to be a bookbinder. However, Strauss never pursued this profession. He began to play in orchestras, composed, became the King of the Waltzes, and his musical talent was inherited not only by his eldest son, Johann Strauss Jr., but also by his other sons, Josef and Eduard. Neither of them, however, was allowed by their father to become a musician… But that’s another story…
Although the St. Florian’s Tavern did not cook according to the ritual laws, it does not mean they did not have cholent, a traditional Jewish dish, on the menu. The name of the dish comes from the French words chaud – warm, and lente – slow. Since Jews are not allowed to work on the Sabbath, and therefore not to cook, they have always come up with dishes that could be pre-cooked. And so, from Friday onwards, they would slowly simmer the cholent in the oven…

CHOLENT

We Need:
200 g white beans
1 kg beef
salt
pepper
1 tsp ground paprika
3 onions
150 g barley flakes
4 large potatoes
100 ml of oil

Method:

Wash the beans and soak in cold water overnight. Cut the meat into larger pieces, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with paprika. Peel the potatoes and cut into large cubes. Chop the onion finely. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and sauté the meat on all sides. Add the onions and fry briefly. Drain the beans, add them to the pot with the potatoes and flakes and mix well. Pour in water so that it is about 3 cm above all the ingredients. Bring to the boil, cover and bake slowly (properly for up to 8 hours) in the oven at 100°C.

Text: © Copyright Ingrid, Travelpotpourri
Fotos: © Copyright Ingrid, Travelpotpourri