I’d been looking at this recipe in Veganomicon ever since I got it, trying to decide whether or not I fancied trying it. It looked a bit dull and flavourless compared to some of the Veganomicon recipes but it still intrigued me. The other day I was watching New British Kitchen on UKTV Food. It’s a new programme and the presenters travel round Britain focusing on foreign influences on our cookery, interviewing people and cooking traditional recipes. This episode looked at Jewish food and one of the dishes they cooked was Cholent! I was immediately interested to see how it looked and the meaty version looked so good that I decided I would give it a go.
It was very easy to put together and then needs to just simmer together to let the flavours come together. There are carrots, kidney beans, lentils, butter beans, TVP chunks, red wine, onions, garlic and herbs in it, and I decided to serve it with some cabbage.
It was good comfort food and I did enjoy it but I found it lacked a bit of depth of flavour. The book does say that it gets better if you leave it for a few days, as stews often do, and I’ve got leftovers so I can see if I agree. I would make it again but I think a tablespoon of marmite stirred through it would really give it a bit of oomph and depth. It was nice to eat something nice and hearty and it made a good change!
Cooking the Vegan Books 