Tzimmes is a specialty of Ashkenazi Jews, while tajines come from Morocco. Although they have such different origins, these slow-cooked entrees share many qualities. Both make festive fare for Rosh Hashanah.

“Don’t make such a tzimmes out of it!” was my parents’ typical response to my childhood complaints when they meant not to make such a big deal. Undoubtedly this Ashkenazi expression was inspired by tzimmes in its most luxurious form–a casserole of meat, fruit, vegetables and even matzo balls.

Tzimmes figured frequently in our family’s Rosh Hashanah celebration, as it was the ideal dish to honor the custom of eating sweet foods to express the wish for a sweet year. In our home tzimmes was a luscious main course of beef stewed gently with carrots, sweet and white potatoes, prunes and brown sugar. Relatives, friends and neighbors of ours had tzimmes on their holiday tables too. Some kept theirs meatless and served it to accompany baked chicken or pot roast.

I discovered tajines years later, when Moroccan-Jewish friends in Paris introduced me to these aromatic entrees. They come in two basic types. Spicy tajines redolent of garlic, cumin and hot pepper are generally composed of meat and vegetables, although some variations are vegetarian or use fish like fresh sardines. Sweet tajines match meat with fruit. During my remaining years in Paris I eagerly sampled tajines at several couscous eateries. Upon moving to Los Angeles I prepared the fragrant stews at home, but when I missed those dining-out experiences, I was glad to find tajines at a few Moroccan restaurants.

What surprised me was how much the sweet tajines resembled my own tzimmes. Both feature meat cooked with dried fruit and honey in an onion-flavored broth. Neither one is sweet and sour. They contain no lemon juice, vinegar or other acidic ingredients, which some people avoid on Rosh Hashanah–another reason why both are perfect for the occasion.

Beef is the classic tzimmes favorite. Today many substitute chicken because it’s lower in fat. Humble versions of tzimmes consist simply of meat braised with sugar and one root vegetable but no fruit. Carrots and sweet potatoes are the most common, followed by white potatoes. Turnips might appear in the tzimmes pots of French Jews, and rutabaga in English ones.

Rosh Hashanah tzimmes is more festive--whether it’s meaty or meat-free, it often contains two or more vegetables as well as fruit. Prunes are by far the most traditional. For sweetening, honey is number one, with brown sugar a close second and white sugar considered OK too. Many season their tzimmes with only salt and pepper but I’m with those who add a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg or cloves for extra zing. To make the hearty stew abundantly saucy, people simmer it with plenty of liquid and thicken the broth with a little flour. In the past the beef was browned in chicken fat but today vegetable oil is the routine replacement.

The main distinctions between tajines and tzimmes are in the flavorings, meats and vegetables. Sweet tajines always have spice, which beautifully balances their sweetness--usually saffron, cinnamon or both, often nutmeg and ginger as well, sometimes a touch of turmeric, but not the chiles and other pungent seasonings of the spicy tajines. Honey is the sweetener of choice and sugar is regarded merely as a substitute. Cooks thicken the tajine sauce by reduction, simmering it until the excess liquid evaporates and the taste is concentrated. If they brown the meat, they use olive or vegetable oil.

Lamb is the preferred protein for tajine, with beef somewhat less desirable. Chicken has long been nearly as popular in tajines as lamb. For these stews Moroccans share the Ashkenazi partiality for prunes but use raisins nearly as often. They also like dried apricots, dates, fresh quinces, apples and pears. A garnish of fried almonds or toasted sesame seeds provides a wonderful accent.

As for vegetables, in Moroccan kitchens they are ordinarily reserved for spicy tajines. Those who add vegetables to the sweet ones opt for one kind and either omit the fruit or use only raisins. The vegetable might be sweet potatoes or carrots, like in tzimmes, or occasionally pumpkin or tomatoes.

Tzimmes and tajines derive their delicious essences from their components and are made without stock or wine. How sweet to make them depends entirely on family tastes. My mother always sprinkled brown sugar with a light hand to subtly enhance her tzimmes. That’s how I love to sweeten both tzimmes and tajines.

In their native lands cooks came up with countless renditions of these homey dishes by taking advantage of local ingredients. That’s why North African tajines might have lamb and dates, while eastern European tzimmes has beef and carrots.

Neither recipe remains static. I’ve read of a tajine of seven vegetables poached with a sheep’s head but I haven’t heard of anyone who makes it now. We have a wealth of produce and fine meats available to embellish our New Year entrees. Prunes and apricots have become a popular pair in both stews for their complementary colors and tastes. French Moroccan Jews make tajines with veal, while Israelis and Californians sometimes prepare tzimmes with turkey and orange juice. Sometimes I add sweet New World vegetables like butternut squash, red bell peppers or corn. Still, I don’t tamper with these age-old favorites too much, particularly for the holidays, when the most important element of the menu is--tradition!


Have a Happy and Sweet Rosh Hashanah!



Faye Levy is the author of Healthy Cooking for the Jewish Home and 1,000 Jewish Recipes.



TRADITIONAL MEAT TZIMMES

When I was a child, my mother usually made this hearty tzimmes for our family’s Rosh Hashanah dinners. She made it the old fashioned way, with beef, carrots, sweet potatoes and prunes.

You can prepare the stew 1 or 2 days ahead and keep it in the refrigerator. Reheat it in a covered pan over low heat or in a 300F oven.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 pounds chuck, cut in 1-inch cubes, or beef for stew
2 large onions, chopped
4 large carrots, peeled and cut in 1-inch chunks
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 to 4 cups water
1 1/2 pounds orange-fleshed sweet potatoes or yams
1/4 cup brown sugar or honey
pinch of black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1/2 pound pitted prunes
1 tablespoon flour


Heat oil in a Dutch oven or heavy casserole over medium heat. Add meat in batches and brown well on all sides. Remove from pan. Add onions and saute until they brown thoroughly. Return meat to pan and add carrots, salt and enough water to just cover. Bring to a boil, skimming occasionally. Cover and simmer over low heat, skimming once or twice, for 1 hour.

Peel sweet potatoes and cut in large dice. After stew has cooked 1 hour, add sweet potatoes, sugar, cinnamon and pepper to pan and mix gently. Push vegetables into liquid. Bring to a boil. Partially cover and simmer over low heat 30 minutes. Meanwhile, soak prunes in enough hot water to cover for about 30 minutes.

Gently stir stew once. Remove prunes from their liquid, reserving liquid, and add prunes to pan. Uncover and simmer 30 minutes longer or until meat is very tender. Occasionally stir very gently.

In a small bowl mix flour with 2 tablespoons prune soaking liquid. Gradually stir in about 1 cup of stew broth. Return mixture to pan, stir very gently and simmer about 5 minutes or until thickened. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning. Serve hot, from a deep serving dish.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.




Lamb Tajine with Apricots, Saffron and Ginger

Tajines are named for the cone-lidded earthernware pans in which these stews were originally cooked in Morocco. Today those who have a tajine pan often reserve it for serving and use a heavy stew pan for cooking. An enamel-lined cast iron casserole or a stainless steel stew pan is a good choice.

Usually this sweet tajine is made with only meat and fruit. Maybe because of my tzimmes heritage, I add sweet potatoes too, because they go so well with the sauce and the lamb. I season the stew fairly generously with fresh pepper and spices to offset the richness of the meat and the sweetness of the fruit and honey.

Browning gives the lamb and sauce a pleasing color and deeper flavor but you can skip this step and be true to tradition; many Moroccan cooks simply simmer the meat in the sauce.

If your family prefers chicken, substitute 3 pounds of chicken pieces; their cooking time will be about 45 minutes.

2 pounds lamb stew meat
1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or mild olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped (about 1 pound)
Pinch of saffron threads (about 1/8 teaspoon tightly packed)
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups water
1 pound orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 3/4-inch dice (optional)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
freshly grated nutmeg to taste
3/4 cup dried apricots
1 cup prunes, pitted
1 tablespoon honey
1/3 cup whole blanched almonds, toasted (see note)


Cut meat in 1-inch cubes. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a heavy stew pan. Add lamb cubes in 2 batches, browning each lightly on all sides over medium-high heat and removing browned meat with a slotted spoon to a plate. Brown bones lightly over medium heat and remove.

Add 1 tablespoon oil if pan is dry and heat it. Add onions and saute over medium heat for 7 minutes or until light brown; cover if pan becomes dry. Return meat, bones and any juices from plate to pan. Add saffron, salt, pepper and water. Mix well; liquid will not cover lamb. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until lamb is tender. Remove lamb cubes and bones with tongs, leaving onions in pan. Remove any bits of meat adhering to bones and add to lamb cubes. Discard bones. For a lighter sauce, refrigerate the cooked meat and its sauce separately for several hours, then skim the fat from the top of the sauce.

Bring sauce to a simmer and add sweet potatoes. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. If sauce is too thin, remove sweet potatoes with a slotted spoon, leaving most of onions in pan, and simmer sauce uncovered for a few minutes until it thickens; then return sweet potatoes to pan. If sauce is too thick, add 3 or 4 tablespoons hot water. Add ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, apricots and plums. Cover and cook, gently stirring once or twice, about 10 minutes or until sweet potatoes and fruit are tender.

Add honey to sauce and stir very gently. Return lamb cubes to pan, cover and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust amounts of salt, pepper, ginger and nutmeg. Serve hot, garnished with toasted almonds.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.


Note: To toast almonds: Preheat oven to 350F. Toast almonds in a shallow baking pan in oven about 7 minutes or until very lightly browned. Immediately transfer to a plate.




GREEK CHICKEN WITH RED WINE, RAISINS AND BABY ONIONS

Raisins and touch of cinnamon give this rich-tasting Greek chicken stew a delicately sweet flavor resembling that of tzimmes. With its deep brown wine sauce, it also recalls French coq au vin and Burgundian chicken, both in technique and in some of the flavorings--the chicken pieces are sauteed, then cooked with red wine, chicken stock and baby onions. Boiled potatoes or rice are good accompaniments. As a variation, you can substitute white wine for the red, and dried cranberries for the raisins.

1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cups baby onions (pearl onions) (5 ounces)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2 to 3 pounds chicken pieces, patted dry
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2/3 cup chicken stock or broth
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1 bay leaf
1/3 cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon sugar


Put baby onions in a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute. Drain in strainer and rinse under cold water. Peel with aid of a paring knife--carefully cut off root, pull off peel gently, then cut off any stringy stems.

Heat oil in large deep heavy skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Sprinkle the chicken lightly with salt and pepper on all sides. Brown in batches on all sides, taking about 7 minutes for leg and thigh pieces, about 5 minutes for breast pieces. Set on a plate, using slotted spoon.

Add baby onions and saute about 3 minutes, shaking pan to turn them over, until lightly browned in spots. Remove with slotted spoon. Discard excess fat, leaving 1 tablespoon in pan.

Add garlic to pan and saute over low heat a few seconds. Stir in flour and cook 30 seconds, stirring, until bubbling. Add wine, stirring until smooth and scraping in brown juices. Bring to a simmer. Stir in tomato paste. Add chicken stock, cinnamon, cumin seeds, bay leaf and raisins. Mix well.

Return leg and thigh pieces to skillet. Add baby onions. Arrange breast and wing pieces on top. Add chicken juices from plate. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes or until breast pieces are tender when pierced with a knife; turn pieces once to coat with sauce. Transfer them to a platter, cover and keep warm. Cook remaining chicken and onions about 10 minutes or until all are tender. Add leg and thigh pieces to platter. Remove bay leaf. Skim as much fat as possible from sauce.

Add sugar to sauce. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning; if flavor is too acid, add a pinch of sugar, remembering that raisins will give a hint of sweetness. Spoon the sauce over the chicken.

Makes 4 servings.