This side dish blew me away. I don’t think I was ready for how tasty this one was going to be. It’s a Jewish dish that’s oftentimes served during Rosh Hashanah, alongside a range of sides that feature honey and other sweet ingredients.
You can locate variants of this dish under two different spellings. One is Tsimmes and the other is Tzimmes. Either way, you’ll likely find something that includes carrots, sweet potato and dried fruit. I used prunes in this one, accompanied by sweet onion, ginger, orange juice and red pepper flakes. As you may have already guessed by looking at the ingredients I just shared, this isn’t only a unique combination, it’s also one you’ll remember for a long time.
The Recipe
This side isn’t tough to prepare at all. After prepping the ingredients, all it takes is some time on the stove top and then about a half hour in the oven. Throw in some stirring and you’ll be all set. This type of food is actually my favorite to prepare because there’s not a lot of technique involved. Anyone can do it if they follow the simple instructions. And if they do, they’ll be left with something that tastes wonderful and that’s perfect for so many different types of holidays. I can picture people’s eyebrows raising after tasting something like this and them saying, “Mmmm, what’s this?” It’s good.
Ingredients
Serves: 4
1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
3 Tablespoons Honey
3 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, Divided
Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
1 Pound Carrots, Trimmed, Peeled and Cut Into 1/2 Inch Rounds
1 Large Vidalia Onion, Trimmed, Peeled and Sliced Thin
1 Large Sweet Potato, Trimmed, Peeled and Cut Into 1/2 Inch Pieces
1/2 Pound Pitted Prunes
1/2 Cup Orange Juice
4 Tablespoons Parsley, Chopped
Step-by-Step Insructions
I’d like to thank Jeffrey Yoskowitz for this recipe. We found it in the monthly Hannaford magazine called Fresh and it’s a definite winner. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention where Jeffrey adapted it from, which was The Gefilte Manifesto. This is actually a book written by him and Liz Alpern. I’ll have to check this one out.
Prep the Ingredients
To kick things off, I prepped all the ingredients I could. I peeled and cut up the carrots, did the same with the sweet potato, sliced the onion and measured out the prunes.
Make the Glaze
In a small bowl, combine the ginger, honey, two tablespoons of olive oil, the red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt and lemon juice. Mix these ingredients together well. Also, give this a taste. It’ll give you an indication of the flavor this dish will ultimately result in.
Soften the Vegetables
Warm a large (oven safe) skillet over medium heat. When it’s to temperature, add one tablespoon of olive oil to it, along with the carrots and onion.
Stir and cook these ingredients for five minutes. They should somewhat soften during that time.
Pre-Heat Oven
At this point, you can arrange the racks in your oven so one of them sits in the center position. Also, pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. I mention this step at this point in the recipe because I think the oven will be warm just as you finish the next step.
Add the Potato & Prunes
Next, add the sweet potato and the prunes to the skillet. Cook everything, while stirring occasionally, for an additional 10 minutes over the same heat.
This is what the skillet should look like at this point.
Roast the Vegetables
Add the orange juice and the glaze to the skillet and mix everything together well. The vegetables should be thoroughly coated with the glaze. When that’s done, place the skillet on the center rack of your oven and let the vegetables roast for 30 minutes. When that’s finished, remove the skillet from the oven and sprinkle the chopped parsley over the vegetables.
Plate & Serve
While hot, divide the tsimmes between plates and serve.
The Final Tsimmes
See? Just as I said – very straightforward and extremely tasty. There’s just something about the combination of honey and lemon juice that I love. This was an incredible side dish and I’ll surely be preparing this one again. If you try it, please let me know your thoughts down in the comment section below. Thanks for reading!
Leave a Reply