Dear Regular Newsletter Readers,
I hope this week’s newsletter reaches you in fine and healthy spirits.
A couple of week’s ago, I mentioned that I was in the process of growing some fenugreek (which is a herb, spice and vegetable all rolled in to one) in order to make a very popular and commonly eaten Persian/Iranian dish called Ghormeh Sabzi (a herb stew). Well, last Saturday I was able to harvest enough of my home grown fenugreek (exactly 35 grams of it) to make the dish, and what with going out shopping to buy some of the ingredients and then the actual making of the dish there was not much of the day left by the time the dish was cooked.
As with most stew and curry type dishes that I make, I generally leave them in the fridge over night to allow the flavours to better develop and I did exactly the same with this dish. Having made Ghormeh Sabzi once previously I basically knew what to expect in terms of the flavour; however, this time around I was using fresh fenugreek leaves, which I had previously substituted for the powdered version and dried black limes (Iranian people refer to them as limoo Amani) which I had previously substituted with freshly squeezed lemon juice, so I was excited at the prospect of trying this very authentic 2nd attempt.
The most labour intensive part of making Ghormeh Sabzi is the washing and chopping of all the fresh herbs. When you take into consideration that you have to add in to the dish 400g of finely chopped fresh parsley, 100 grams of coriander and 40~50 grams of fresh fenugreek to 1kg of lamb you can well imagine the time it takes to do all the required chopping. Other than making sure that you do not over fry the herbs and you remove the dried limes (limoo amani) shortly after the dish is cooked (this is my recommendation) you should create a very tasty stew. *Over cooking the herbs and leaving the limoo amani in the stew after the stew has cooked will kikely result in a bitter tasting stew, so be careful.*
I have to say that I was quite impressed with the end result, my second attempt was more fragrant and had more of a refined taste when compared to my first attempt; not to take anything away from my first attempt, but using all fresh herbs and dried black limes instead of dried herbs and freshly squeezed lemon juice does make a significant difference. This time around I served my Ghormeh Sabzi over Basmati rice and not Persian rice; however, both are long grain and as far as I know they are not too dissimilar in flavour.
As a side dish I served a simple Persian Shirazi salad made with 3 Japanese cucumbers, 3/4 medium sized tomatoes, 3 tablespoons of fresh parsley, 1 small red onions, 1/2 teaspoon of cumin, 1/4 teaspoon of dried mint, the juice of 1 lime, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste (1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper optional). All you do is dice up the ingredients and mix them together with the dressing, it’s a very easy salad to make. I really hope you try to make Ghormeh Sabzi as it is a very delicious and also healthy dish.
The recipe for Ghormeh Sabzi (herb stew) is as follows:
Ingredients
・2lb lamb or beef stew meat, cubed (2lbs = 1kg)
・1 cup red kidney beans, soaked overnight (1 cup = 180 grams)
・1 onion , finely chopped
・ 4 bunches parsley (1 bunch is an equivalent to 100 grams)
・ 1 bunch cilantro (1 bunch is equivalent to 100 grams)
・ 4 scallions (green stems only)
・ 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek (or 1 bunch fresh fenugreek – 1 bunch is equivalent to 35~45 grams)
・ 4 dried black limes (limoo amani), or 4 tablespoons lemon juice
・ 1 tablespoon turmeric
・ Vegetable oil
・ Salt
・ Pepper
Equipment Required
A Dutch oven or a heavy cast iron pan (le Creuset is perfect)
Instructions
1. Wash the herbs in a large bowl, then dry and chop finely.
2. In a large skillet, heat 4 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium heat and sauté the fresh herbs for about 15 minutes, while stirring occasionally. Set aside.
3. In a Dutch oven or a large pot, sauté the chopped onions in 2 tablespoons of oil for about 10 minutes, until golden brown.
4. Add the meat, turmeric, salt, pepper to the onions and fry for about 6 to 8 minutes.
5. Add the soaked dried beans, the fried herbs and the black limes.
6. Cover with water and bring to a boil on high heat. Then, lower the heat, cover and simmer on low to medium heat for about 2 hours.
7. Taste and add salt or pepper if needed. Add water and continue to simmer if the meat is not tender enough.
8. Serve over Persian steamed rice.
Additional Notes
I bought dried black limes from a Persian food import company located in Denenchofu (I believe you can also buy Persian rice from here); they have website and an online shop so you can purchase online – the link is below:
https://www.persia-trd.co.jp/html/abouts/
I always buy NZ lamb from Nissin supermarket as the prices are reasonable and the quality is very good; the supermarket is located in Azabu Juban or you can purchase on line – the link is below:
Nissin World Delicatessen 日進ワールドデリカテッセン (nissin-world-delicatessen.jp)
