The New Persian Kitchen (11 page)
Read The New Persian Kitchen Online
Authors: Louisa Shafia
10 cups vegetable stock or water
1 pound stinging nettles or spinach
2 yellow onions, finely diced
3 tablespoons grapeseed oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound fresh peas or thawed frozen peas
1 cup loosely packed fresh spearmint, coarsely chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Bring the stock to a boil in a large pot. While the stock heats, don sturdy rubber gloves and tear the nettle leaves from the stems. Wash the leaves in cold water, then add to the stock and boil for 1 minute. Drain into a colander placed over a large container to reserve the stock, and finely chop the nettles.
Rinse the pot and put it back on the stove over medium heat. Add the oil, followed by the onions, and cook for about 5 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic, turmeric, cayenne, and reserved cooking stock and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, add the nettles, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the peas and cook for about 5 minutes, until just tender. Stir in the spearmint and season with salt and pepper. Add the lemon juice just before serving.
bean, herb, and noodle soupash-e reshteh
This classic Persian country-style soup can be served as a hearty starter or a full-fledged meal in itself. Feel free to substitute fava beans, navy beans, mung beans, or black-eyed peas for the beans used here. This soup gets better with time, so I recommend making it several hours or even a day ahead.
serves 6 to 83 yellow onions
½ cup grapeseed oil
2 cups cooked chickpeas (one 15-ounce can, drained and rinsed)
2 cups cooked kidney beans (one 15-ounce can, drained and rinsed)
4 cups frozen lima beans (one 16-ounce bag)
½ cup lentils
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
3 heaping tablespoons dried dill weed
3 heaping tablespoons dried mint
12 cups vegetable or chicken stock
Sea salt
6 ounces linguine noodles, broken into thirds
3 cups coarsely chopped kale, collards, or spinach (stems discarded)
⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1½ cups thick Greek-style yogurt, for garnish
Dice 1 of the onions. Heat a large stockpot over medium heat and add 3 tablespoons of the oil. Add the onion and cook for 10 minutes, until it starts to brown. Add the chickpeas, kidney beans, lima beans, lentils, garlic, turmeric, dill, and 1 tablespoon of the mint. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat and simmer gently, covered, for 1 hour to blend the flavors.
Slice the remaining 2 onions into thin half-moons. Heat a medium skillet over high heat and add the remaining 5 tablespoons oil. Add the onions and panfry, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes, until golden. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons mint and sauté about 2 minutes, until soft and fragrant.
In the last 30 minutes of cooking, add the noodles and leafy greens to the soup, and stir well so that the noodles don’t clump. Stir in 2 teaspoons sea salt. When the noodles are tender, add the lemon juice and season to taste. Serve garnished with a large dollop of yogurt and a spoonful of the fried onions.
According
to Persian tradition, foods can either heat your body up or cool it down, and it’s typically advised that you keep these energies carefully balanced. It’s a mindset not unlike traditional Chinese medicine, but whereas the Chinese system cautions against eating raw foods because of their cooling, “aqueous” nature, Persian food philosophy makes plenty of room for good old-fashioned roughage.
to Persian tradition, foods can either heat your body up or cool it down, and it’s typically advised that you keep these energies carefully balanced. It’s a mindset not unlike traditional Chinese medicine, but whereas the Chinese system cautions against eating raw foods because of their cooling, “aqueous” nature, Persian food philosophy makes plenty of room for good old-fashioned roughage.
Some good examples of the Persian passion for raw vegetables are the
Fresh Herb Platter
in the Starters chapter, a wonderfully simple salad in the form of whole, unseasoned herbs, and the warm-weather Persian custom of dipping romaine leaves into seasoned vinegar, or
sekanjabin
. Even a snack as simple as raw pomegranates dusted with angelica seeds and a pinch of salt can be seen as a kind of salad, according to our usual understanding of a salad as something cool and crisp.
Fresh Herb Platter
in the Starters chapter, a wonderfully simple salad in the form of whole, unseasoned herbs, and the warm-weather Persian custom of dipping romaine leaves into seasoned vinegar, or
sekanjabin
. Even a snack as simple as raw pomegranates dusted with angelica seeds and a pinch of salt can be seen as a kind of salad, according to our usual understanding of a salad as something cool and crisp.
Nevertheless, the tradition of a true salad course never took hold in Iran, probably because fresh produce permeates every aspect of the daily diet, and there’s arguably no need to designate a separate vegetable course. Perhaps that’s why the term “salad” in Iran generally refers to things like thick Persian yogurt mixed with vegetables, such as
Yogurt with Beets
and
Yogurt with Shallots
in the Starters chapter. One clear exception is
Salad Shirazi
in this chapter, which, though it doesn’t contain lettuce,
is absolutely a salad, even in the Western sense of the word. A medley of tomatoes and cucumbers dressed simply with lime juice and dried mint, it’s a familiar dish throughout the Middle East, here interpreted in an unmistakably Persian manner.
Yogurt with Beets
and
Yogurt with Shallots
in the Starters chapter. One clear exception is
Salad Shirazi
in this chapter, which, though it doesn’t contain lettuce,
is absolutely a salad, even in the Western sense of the word. A medley of tomatoes and cucumbers dressed simply with lime juice and dried mint, it’s a familiar dish throughout the Middle East, here interpreted in an unmistakably Persian manner.
Because salads are uncharted territory in Iranian cuisine, I’ve taken the opportunity to let my imagination run wild, and you’ll find traditional Persian ingredients paired in surprising ways here. A few foreign interlopers also make an appearance, including celery root, corn, and strawberries.
Vinegar Carrots with Toasted Sesame Seeds
takes its inspiration from China, Iran’s Silk Road neighbor to the East, and the
Roasted Peach and Corn Salad in Tamarind Vinaigrette
weaves in good ol’ American corn. The
Cucumber and Watermelon Salad
, on the other hand, contains strictly traditional Persian ingredients, such as walnuts and mint. These salad recipes share a focus on seasonal produce, and they all revel in the simple truth that flavorful, fresh ingredients like pomegranates, peaches, watermelon, and rhubarb don’t require a lot of fuss to taste spectacular.
chicken with potatoes and olivesVinegar Carrots with Toasted Sesame Seeds
takes its inspiration from China, Iran’s Silk Road neighbor to the East, and the
Roasted Peach and Corn Salad in Tamarind Vinaigrette
weaves in good ol’ American corn. The
Cucumber and Watermelon Salad
, on the other hand, contains strictly traditional Persian ingredients, such as walnuts and mint. These salad recipes share a focus on seasonal produce, and they all revel in the simple truth that flavorful, fresh ingredients like pomegranates, peaches, watermelon, and rhubarb don’t require a lot of fuss to taste spectacular.
Persians love French culture, and that’s reflected in their favorite chicken salad known as
salad olivieh
, typically made with potatoes, eggs, and lots of mayonnaise. Created by a French chef in Moscow, the recipe traveled to Iran with the many immigrants who found safe haven there after the Russian Revolution. These days you’ll find it on the menu of most Persian restaurants in the United States. This version, made with yogurt, green olives, and lemon juice, is less of a Franco-Russian approach and more of a Mediterranean one. Serve it plain, over salad greens, or in a sandwich stuffed with crisp lettuce leaves.
salad olivieh
, typically made with potatoes, eggs, and lots of mayonnaise. Created by a French chef in Moscow, the recipe traveled to Iran with the many immigrants who found safe haven there after the Russian Revolution. These days you’ll find it on the menu of most Persian restaurants in the United States. This version, made with yogurt, green olives, and lemon juice, is less of a Franco-Russian approach and more of a Mediterranean one. Serve it plain, over salad greens, or in a sandwich stuffed with crisp lettuce leaves.
serves 61½ pounds fingerling potatoes or other waxy potatoes, scrubbed
Sea salt
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
6 scallions, green and white parts, thinly sliced
1 cup thick Greek-style yogurt
3 cups (1 pound) coarsely chopped skinless cooked chicken
1 cup pitted green olives, halved
1 cup tightly packed chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Add 2 teaspoons salt and bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for about 25 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender. Drain, cool, and cut into halves or quarters, depending on their size.
Toast the mustard, coriander, and fennel seeds in a skillet over high heat for 1 minute. Let cool and grind in a spice grinder.
In a large bowl, whisk the spices with the oil, lemon juice, scallions, yogurt, and 2 teaspoons sea salt. Add the chicken and stir to coat. Fold in the potatoes, olives, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.
Vegetarian OptionReplace the chicken with cooked chickpeas.
salad shirazi
This crisp salad makes a refreshing accompaniment to heavier foods because it’s dressed very simply with fresh lime juice. Use heirloom tomatoes and cucumbers in different hues when they’re in season. My friend Somayeh, a graduate student in Philadelphia, taught me how to make this salad, and when I prepare it, I picture her rubbing the mint between her palms and letting it fall in a flurry of green over the vegetables.
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