Slow-cooker Cholent

Several simple things make for a good cholent—even honey.

RECIPE: Slow-Cooker Cholent
Adapted from recipes at food.com, cooking.nytimes.com, chabad.org, toriavey.com and in “The 100 Most Jewish Foods,” Alana Newhouse, editor (2019). Serves 6-8.

Ingredients
2 medium yellow onions, peeled and thick-sliced
4 medium yellow or white potatoes, washed but unpeeled, cut into large chunks
1 pound bone-in beef short ribs
1 pound beef shank with marrow bone
4 cloves garlic, peeled but left whole
1 heaping cup dried garbanzo (or Great Northern or cannellini) beans
3/4 cup pearl barley, uncooked
1 tablespoon sweet paprika powder (or more, to taste, or a 50/50 mix of sweet and hot paprika powders)
1 tablespoon kosher or sea salt
1 heaping teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon honey (or more, to taste)
Optional: 1 teaspoon each powdered turmeric and cumin
3-4 cups, or more, chicken, beef or vegetable broth

Directions
In the bottom of a slow cooker, arrange snugly the onions and potatoes. Top with the beef pieces and the garlic cloves, evenly distributed. (If in search of additional flavors, you may brown the onions and meat pieces ahead of time in 2 tablespoons cooking oil, atop the stove in a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven.) Scatter about the beans and barley and all the remaining spices and seasonings.

Pour enough liquid into the pot to just cover all the ingredients. Cover and cook on Low for 12 or more hours, stirring occasionally (except not stirring at all if observant and preparing during Shabbat). If the cholent dries out, add more water as necessary.

Vegetarian and gluten-free version: Omit the meat and barley. Use water or vegetable broth as the liquid. Add 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into chunks and 3 stalks celery, sliced into chunks along the bias. Increase the beans to 1 1/2 cups.

To cook in an oven: Layer the ingredients in a large Dutch oven as stipulated, assuring that you use enough covering liquid. Cover and cook at 200 degrees for 12 or more hours.