A tzimmes recipe is one of many traditional Ashkenazi recipes for the Passover / Pesach festival. Ashkenazim (Jews whose ancestors came from Central and/or Eastern Europe; singular form: Ashkenazi, Ashkenaz; descriptive form: Ashkenazic) will vary a tzimmes recipe depending on where their ancestors came from in Europe or in other parts of the world where Ashkenazim have migrated from Europe, as well as on the basis of an individual family's recipe for tzimmes, and on the individual creativity of the recipe-maker.

Tzimmes (or Tsimmes, Tzimmis, Tsimmis) informally means "a fuss over something" in Yiddish, but in Jewish culinary terms, it usually means a sweetened compote mixture of various fruits and vegetables, or of meat and vegetables. Different combinations of the aforementioned ingredients make up different types of tzimmes dishes. Tzimmes is either stewed or baked in a casserole, and is usually served as a side dish at the Passover / Pesach Seder. The word "tzimmes" derives from the Yiddish word "tsimes" which in turn derives from the Middle High German compound words "zimbiz" or "zuoimbiz", meaning "at light meal" and "to light meal", respectively (z = at, zuo = to + imbiz = light meal; Middle High German is the German of the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries). The word "tzimmes" is also a Yiddishized play on the German words "zum" ("to", "to the", "to that", or "for") and "essen" ("eat") ("zum essen" as a phrase means "for dinner"). A popular form of a tzimmes recipe is a carrot, prune, and raisin tzimmes recipe. The following tzimmes recipe was created for the Sabbath (or "Shabbos" or "Shabbat" in Hebrew), including when Shabbos occurs during the Passover / Pesach festival.

Shabbos Tzimmes Recipe (6 to 8 servings)

7 large carrots, sliced
3 1/2 pound brisket
2 cups dried prunes
1/2 cup dark brown sugar or molasses
3 sweet potatoes, diced

Instructions for the Shabbos Tzimmes recipe:

  1. In small amount of water cook carrots and brisket slowly for about 1 hour.
  2. Add prunes, sugar and sweet potatoes and simmer another 2 hours or until thickened.

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