Tzimmes: The Sweet Carrot and Prune Stew
Tzimmes is the sweet carrot stew of Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine, and one of the dishes on the Rosh Hashanah table. The carrots are sliced into rounds, which resemble coins, and in Yiddish mern means both "carrots" and "to increase": that is why it is the dish of the wish for prosperity for the year that begins. It is cooked slowly with honey, orange, cinnamon, and prunes, until the liquid becomes a shiny syrup. It contains no dairy, so it pairs equally well with meat and poultry, and it tastes even better the next day. As a bonus, a Yiddish fact: to make a tzimmes out of something is to make a fuss over nothing. It is also spelled tsimmes or tzimes.
Ingredients
- 1 kg carrots
- 150 g pitted prunes
- 50 g raisins
- 80 g honey
- Juice and zest of 1 orange
- 250 ml water
- 30 ml neutral oil
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Method
- 1
Peel the carrots and cut them into 1 cm slices. The thickness matters more than it seems: thin ones fall apart in the stew, and thick ones remain hard in the center when the syrup is already ready.
- 2
Place the carrots in a wide pot with the water, orange juice and zest, honey, oil, cinnamon, and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat.
- 3
Lower to minimum heat, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.
- 4
Uncover, add the prunes and raisins, and continue cooking uncovered for 25-30 minutes. Stir occasionally with care, so as not to break the slices.
- 5
It is ready when the carrots can be pierced without resistance and the liquid has reduced to a thick syrup that coats them. If they are already tender but there is still a lot of liquid, turn up the heat for a few minutes and reduce it while stirring.
- 6
Taste for salt before serving: it is what prevents the dish from being cloying and what makes the orange stand out.
- 7
Serve warm or at room temperature, as a side dish for meat or poultry. It keeps for 4 days in the refrigerator and tastes even better the next day, so it can be made in advance.