Somebody pinch me, I can’t believe Rosh Hashanah is around the corner! I mean, where did the summer go? It’s hard to believe my kids have already started school and we’re about to embark on a new journey for the year 5775.
If it weren’t for the smell in the air, I would be keeping my kid’s bathing suits around. Instead, I’m packing them up with their bright summery wardrobes, and filling their closets with warm winter sweaters. What is it about that smell – that special something in the air that tells me that the Hebrew month of Tishrei is just around the bend. Can you smell it too?
It’s that slight fall breeze and the freshness of falling leaves that runs through my veins, bringing up memories of bygone Tishrei’s. Weeks filled with the hustle and bustle of Yom Tov prep that culminate in the awe-inspiring day of Yom Kippur and end with the joyous celebrations of Succot. So many feelings of regret, sadness, gratitude, hope, inspiration all wrapped up in the September breeze…it’s intoxicating.
The power of scent is truly extraordinary. It can evoke the deepest memories and trigger rememberences from childhood and beyond. The smell of tzimmes simmering on the stove brings me back to the Jewish New Year’s of my youth; honey dripping from my chin, counting the pomegranate seeds at the table.
There’s nothing like tzimmes to evoke memories of Rosh Hashanah, so I decided to do a little twist on the classic recipe. Cooking the sweet carrot hash alongside a roast is a great way to make the best of your Yom Tov meat without having to cook your tzimmes separately. You can serve it all up on a platter and wow your guests with traditional Rosh Hashanah food, redefined.
Here’s to the start of many sweet things – from our food, to our lives. May we all be blessed to create the sweetest of memories this year!
Tzimmes Roast
2 lb. mock tender (see note)
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
2 large carrots, approx 1 lb., peeled and sliced
1 lg or 2 small sweet potatoes, approx 1 lb., peeled and diced
1 cup canned pineapple tidbits (reserve juice)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
heaping 1/4 c honey
1/4 cup pitted dried prunes, optional
Method:
Heat a dutch oven or oven-safe pot and add olive oil. Season the roast with salt and pepper and sear on all sides. Place carrots, sweet potatoes, prunes (if using), pineapple tidbits and all the juice from the can (it should equal about a cup, if it’s less, add water to equal a cup) around the roast. Sprinkle the vegetables with cinnamon and nutmeg and drizzle with honey. Season, to taste, with salt. Cover the pot and bring to a gentle simmer. Remove from the fire and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Flip the roast, stir the carrots, and bake for an additional hour.
Remove the roast from the pot and let it rest for 10 minutes. Slice and place on a platter. Place the tzimmes around the roast and drizzle remaining sauce over the meat.
NOTE: The mock tender is a large kolichol cut from the shoulder. If your butcher does not carry it, use a shoulder roast instead.
VARIATON: use 1 cup orange juice instead of pineapple juice.
Related Recipes:
Rosh Hashanah Roast
honey roasted za’atar chicken with dried fruit
couscous with honey roasted carrots, parsnips and beets
What a PERFECT Rosh Hashana recipe. Thanks for sharing! Bookmarking this and will let you know if I try it!
Thanks so much!
Is there an ingredient missing between the sweet potatoes and pineapple? It just says 1 lb peeled and diced. Recipe looks very good. Thanks
Thanks Dina. It says “2 large carrots, approximately 1 lb., peeled and sliced and then 1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes, approximately 1 lb. , peeled and diced” – so it’s 1 lb. each carrots and sweet potatoes. There is no ingredient missing. The next one is the pineapple.
The recipe looks great, i can’t wait to try it. I don’t have a dutch oven, but i do have a roaster. Can i skip the boiling step, or can i boil it in my roaster?
What kind of roaster do you have?
Beautiful Chanie! We even serve it a bit the same. I hope it is a very sweet New Year for your family.
Thanks Beth! Same to you and yours!
Chanie, this looks so awesome…I am a huge Tzimmes fan and this just gave me an instant tzimmes craving
I am not usually a fan of tzimmus but this more refined version sounds amazing! Maybe it’s time to start a new family tradition!
Looks delicious. I’ve often included prunes instead of pineapple. Chag sameach, have a wonderful year.
looks amazing. This isn’t something we make but it looks delicious! I wish I liked red meat, because your pics make it look good.
Do you think this could be made ahead and frozen? And would you only use either a “mock tender” or a shoulder roast to make it?
It can definitely be frozen. I froze it in a big container with the sliced meat and the tzimmes together. Thaw it in the fridge overnight and when you’re ready to serve, put the meat on one side of a pan or pot, and the tzimmes on the other. Add a bit of vegetable stock and let it simmer until soft and heated through.
And about the roast – you want to use something a little more tender because the recipe doesn’t have that much acid to help tenderize the meat, so I wouldn’t go with a tough cut of meat.
If the roast is bigger, how should I adjust the time-my roast is just under 3.5lbs. Also, will baking at a lower temp (300) for longer yield a more tender roast? Thanks in advance!
Hi Chana, low and slow is always a good way to go with tough cuts of meat like brisket but with more tender cuts like mock tender or shoulder roast, I don’t think it’s necessary. The only way to check if a roast is tender is to stick a fork in it, so I suggest starting with the 2 hour cooking time (as per the recipe). Take it out of the oven and test with a fork. If the roast feels soft and the fork slides in easily, you’re good. If it feels a little tough, put it back in for another 30 minutes – 1 hour.
I am drooling over this! The first picture looks like it could be in a magazine!
Thanks so much for this! Looks amazing. So, you don’t think this should be done with brisket, right?
Brisket usually needs to cook low and slow, for quite some time. I don’t know that it would work well.
Also, do you think you could keep the recipe the same but just omit the meat? Or would you have to alter it…
It may very well work on it’s own as a sweet tzimmes, you are welcome to try!
Hi, I’d love to try this without the meat. Should I still bring it to a simmer on the stove and then bake it, or just cook on the stove? Thank you and I look forward to eating this.
I would just cook it on the stove.
Do you recommend cooking the tzimmes the day you want to serve it, or can i prepare it a few days in advance ?
You can prepare it in advance and just rewarm to serve. You may need to add a bit of liquid when rewarming.