Laura’s story starts in Iran with a house full of family and a table full of food. Though that life is far behind her, one of her favorite Persian stews, Khoresteh Gormeh Sabzi, transports her back to the country her family longed to make their home.
Food’s Magical Memories
Food has a magical ability to tap into our memories. It can carry us to places far-far away or very close to home; to a time almost forgotten or right at the forefront of our memory.
Listen as food blogger and cookbook author, Laura Bashar, shares her memories of Iran, her grandmother’s kabobs and a Persian stew, dubbed Green Stew by Laura and her bother, with deep roots in her family’s heritage.
Episode Transcript
🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
The Camp & Cabin Cookbook: 100 Recipes to Prepare Wherever You Go by Laura Bashar
Cooking Techniques with Olive Oil by Mary Platis and Laura Bashar
Laura’s Post for Khoresteh Gormeh Sabzi
Connect with Laura on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest. And make sure to check out her food blog, Family Spice, for more Persian Dishes as well as a lot of Unicorn cakes. 🦄
Thank you to our Sponsor Bob’s Red Mill for keeping my pantry full of fabulous flours and baking products!
Persian Herb Stew (Khoresteh Gormeh Sabzi)
Listen as food blogger and cookbook author, Laura Bashar, shares memories Khoresteh Gormeh Sabzi, a Persian stew, with deep roots in her family’s heritage.
Ingredients
3 pounds stew meat cut into 1-inch cubes
3 teaspoons turmeric divided
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons all purpose flour optional
9 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil divided
3 cups diced onions
2 cups beef broth
6 small dried Persian limes with slits cut into sides
26 ounces fresh parsley approximately 6 big bunches
10 ounces fresh cilantro approximately 4 bunches
9 ounces fresh kale 7 oz kale without stems
1/2 cup dried fenugreek divided
8 ounces fresh green onions diced both green and white parts (approximately 2 bunches)
4 cups water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 (20-ounce) can red kidney beans drained, rinsed and soaked in a bowl of water for 2 hours
Instructions
In a large bowl combine meat, 2 teaspoons turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, and flour until meat is coated evenly. Set aside.
Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and onions. Cook until the onions start to soften. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook until the onions are translucent. Do not caramelize.
Stir remaining turmeric and 1/4 teaspoon salt into the onions. Increase the heat to high. Add the seasoned stew meat, brownings on all sides, about 15 minutes.
Add broth, scraping the bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low.
Add dried limes to the pot, cover and cook on low heat for 1 hour. Once limes have softened, you can press them flat with your wooden spoon to remove the air inside.
While meat is cooking, remove stems, especially the thick woody ones, from parsley, cilantro and kale.
Wash, drain and spin green vegetables dry. A salad spinner works great with this step.
Once dried, chop vegetables in batches using a food processor with a metal blade.
In a large non-stick frying pan, over medium-high heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add half of the greens and 1/4 cup fenugreek.
Reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking until vegetables are dark green, 15 - 20 minutes. Transfer to the pot with the stew meat.
Add another 2 tablespoons olive oil to the pan and cook the remaining fresh herbs and dried fenugreek until they are dark green, 15 - 20 minutes. Transfer to the pot with the stew meat.
Add the remaining olive oil to the hot frying pan and sauté the green onions until lightly browned and greens are dark. Transfer to the pot with the stew meat.
Stir in the water and lemon juice. Cover the pot and cook for at least another hour or two. The longer the stew cooks, the more fragrant and flavorful your stew will be. Ideally, you can serve the stew the next day.
Drain beans, stir into the stew and cook for one more hour.
Serve with white basmati rice.
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