"Cheater's" Stovetop Tzimmes: My simplified tzimmes recipe

I always make this for Rosh Hashanah, for a sweet new year.

 

Feel free to call me a cheater--one of my fellow congregants once did--but I don’t use the oven because using the stove-top is safer—there’s less likelihood of me spilling hot pineapple juice (or other ingredients) on myself when I’m using a pot rather than a clumsy roasting pan.

Ingredients:

~1 fresh apple, with core removed 

 

(Do not peel, or you'll end up with applesauce--the skin keeps the apple from falling apart during the cooking process.)

~1 20-ounce can of pineapple chunks in unsweetened juice (no syrup allowed!)

 

(Since you want to be able to taste the pineapple, chunks work better than crushed pineapple or pineapple tidbits).

~1 and 1/2 pounds of baby carrots 

 

(Easier on the wrists and fingers than cutting full-sized ones, and there's no reason to cut them at all except for Rosh HaShanah, when you might want to slice at least one carrot because the sliced carrots are supposed to represent the coins/currency in your future), or 1 and 1/2 pounds of full-sized carrots (sliced or cut into chunks). [If you use 2 pounds of carrots, the tzimmes won't be sweet enough, but if you use only 1 pound, you'll wonder where the carrots disappeared. :)]

 

~ground cinnamon to taste

 

 

[I eliminated the sweet potatoes, which are a pain to cut and which I don't like anyway--you can serve the tzimmes with noodles or rice. I also eliminated the orange juice, which is bad for my acid reflux.

Possible health alert: This recipe contains neither honey nor sugar, but it may still not be good for diabetics because of the high natural-sugar (glycemic?) content, especially from the carrots and fruit juice. That said, it's an improvement for those of us who have trouble with refined sugar and/or honey (both of which give me leg cramps), but not with juice.]

Place the cored apple in the center of a three-quart pot. Sprinkle the interior of the apple with ground cinnamon, stuff it with pineapple chunks, then sprinkle the exterior of the stuffed apple with cinnamon. Alternate layers of carrots and pineapple chunks. Pour the remaining chunks of unsweetened pineapple and at least half the pineapple juice--I haven’t figured out the correct proportions yet--over everything. Sprinkle cinnamon on everything. Mix a bit, if possible, without dislodging the apple from its pride of place. Bring to a boil, then cook on low-medium heat until the carrots are soft, which should take approximately forever (over an hour?) .  Have a good and sweet year!