There was no chance of going hungry when Grandma Rene was cooking, and tzimmes was one of the favourite treats for Helen Graham and her family. Here, the executive chef of Bubala’s two Middle Eastern vegetarian restaurants shares Rene’s recipe for the Ashkenazi Jewish classic – a recipe to treasure
“Tzimmes is a traditional Ashkenazi side dish of stewed fruit and veg that’s traditionally served on Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year), with its inherent sweetness signalling a sweet new start. But it can be enjoyed any time and is popular for other holidays, such as Passover (5-13 April this year).
The dish was something Grandma served as a special treat alongside a roast chicken, and it was a real labour of love. A muddle of orange, root vegetables and jammy fruit, tzimmes really does live up to its name’s meaning in Yiddish: ‘making a fuss’.
Truth be told, every meal was a bit of a fuss with my grandma; your plate would be loaded up to the point where you were straining to see anything beyond it. Failure to consume it all would be met with concerned questioning over the state of your health. And if, by some miracle, you did manage to finish your ginormous plate of food, you’d have to →
lie down immediately afterwards.
This is quite a sweet dish – think the Jewish equivalent of the sweet potato and marshmallow pie served on Thanksgiving in the US – and needs to be paired with something deeply savoury for balance. A roast chicken, brisket or short ribs work beautifully, and if you want to keep it vegetarian I’d go for rice and some sort of brassica braised in soy. This recipe is based on my grandma Rene’s, with my addition of rice vinegar and the Middle Eastern spice blend baharat.”
Tzimmes
Serves 6 as a side Hands-on time 25 min Simmering time 1½ hours
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 tbsp sea salt flakes
• 2 tsp baharat (or ½ tsp ground ginger, ½ tsp ground n
