A while back my mother-in-law asked me to create a tzimmes dish for the Jewish holidays; it was a comment from Shari in NC that spurred me towards fulfilling that wonderful request.
I made tzimmes for our Rosh Hashanah dinner a few days ago and my family loved it so much that I’ll be making it again for Yom Kippur.
There are several ways to make tzimmes, though most often this dish uses carrots for the base, as carrots symbolize hope for prosperity in the coming year. Many people like to add other ingredients to their tzimmes such as sweet potatoes, raisins, and meat. I like my tzimmes with prunes, which is also considered traditional. What do you put in your tzimmes?
While preparing this post, there was much discussion surrounding the correct spelling of the word tzimmes. And sure enough, there are at least two accepted spellings — tzimmes and tsimmes. However you choose to spell it, I hope you enjoy the recipe.
Tzimmes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds carrots, cut into ½-inch pieces
- ½ cup prunes, cut in half
- ½ cup dried apricots, cut in half
- 2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
Instructions
- Place carrots, prunes, apricots and orange juice in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish
- Sprinkle with cinnamon and salt
- Cover dish with tin foil
- Bake at 350°F for 60-80 minutes
- Serve
For those who celebrate it, I hope you had a wonderful Rosh Hashanah and that you have an easy fast this Yom Kippur.
Here are some of my other cooked vegetable recipes:
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joan nass says
L’ Shanan Tovah to you and your family.
Stay safe, hugs
Elana says
Joan, happy new year!
JUDITH says
I USE SWEET POTATOES CUT IN CHUNKS
PRUNES DRIED APRICOTS BABY CARROTS
HONEY & ORANGE MARMALADE AND APRICOT MARMALADE
BUTTER TEENY BIT OF WATER
COOK COVERED FOR 1 HOUR ON LOW
Elana says
Judith, that sounds great!
Elke says
Our tzimmes this year was a mix of carrots, sweet potato, pineapple and orange juice with a spoon of honey. Delicious!
Elana says
Elke, that sounds delightful!
Jacqueline tyler says
I would like to know what types of recipes can you use soy beans in? Have you ever heard of an Egyptian grain called “coyote? Do you have any recipes for steel cut oats?
Elana says
Jacqueline, thanks for your comment! I haven’t eaten soy or oats since 2001 so not really sure about that. Sorry I can’t be of more help :-)
Jacob E. Goodman says
The statement “And sure enough, there are at least two accepted spellings — tzimmes and tsimmes” is incorrect: There is only one accepted spelling, “tsimes,” following the widely-accepted YIVO guidelines for transliterating Yiddish.
Tui Avraham says
I have to tell you that my mother in law made her own tzimmes similar to this but with out the prunes and sweeteners, and she uses sweet potatoes in addition. The other meaningful addition is the way her mum used to make it with a base of kneidlach on the bottom of the pan, and she would bake it. She used you kneidlach recipe and it came out delicious!
Crista says
ok, i have never heard of tz… however you spell it. i’m not even going to attempt a pronunciation (ok, i’m doing it in my head) …looks good anyhow…. :)
Alison @ Ingredients Inc says
this is one of our families classics! I love it
Judith Cutler says
I made this Paleo tsimmis dish for dinner. As written, it does not feed 6-8. Also, the taste was acrid. I thought the fruit would sweeten it naturally but that was not the case. And the guests didn’t gobble it up either.
Elana says
Thanks for your comment Judith. So sorry this did not meet your expectations. When we make this as a side dish at the High Holidays it easily serves 8 people, with a quarter pound carrots and 1/4 cup dried fruit per person it is a nice hearty helping. We have found that the dish is a bit too sweet for us, as opposed to acidic, but we eat very low-carb and low-sugar so this is a major treat with all of the dried fruit and orange juice. I hope you have a fantastic New Year and thanks again for your thoughtful feedback!
Yevgeniya Libkhen says
Dear Elana, thank you for your good wishes and Shana Tova to you too and an easy fast on Yom Kippur!
To answer your question about my family’s tzimmes. It is actually made from cooked kidney beans that are mashed up into a puree and sweetened with honey. Ironically, until we came to the States (my family’s roots are from former Besarabia, currently Moldova)we have never heard of tzimmes made from carrots. We actually though someone was making a joke when it was first mentioned:) Go figure…
Aimee says
This is one dish my aunt always made that I didn’t appreciate until I got older. Thank you for sharing your recipe. Wishing you and your family Shana Tova Umetukah – a good and sweet new year.