My Healing Meal
My all time favorite meal is a Persian dish known as Ghormeh Sabzi, served over Persian Rice with Tahdig. It is a stew made with meat and herbs that — for me — is a healing food. In the late 1990s, I had a routine outpatient surgery that became a near-death experience from internal bleeding. The resulting emergency surgery and recuperation were difficult. I was in pain and had no appetite, until my wonderful neighbors brought this dish. It restored my health. I actually craved it; my body needed more of it.
I make it with beef, although it is more traditionally made with lamb. These days, the internet offers recipes for a vegan version as well as all sorts of variations to honor special diets.
Here is my version. Whenever possible, I use organic ingredients. The recipe is modified for my taste, and to accommodate my husband’s hatred of vegetables — which he will eat if they are undetectable — from the original recipe in my favorite Persian cookbook New Food of Life. This is a fabulous book of recipes, evocative photography, and cultural information.
INGREDIENTS
2 large onions, puréed in the food processor
2 pounds USDA prime top sirloin, cut in 2-inch cubes
1/2 cup ghee and 1/2 cup avocado oil
2 teaspoons Celtic sea salt or Himalayan salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 cup dried kidney beans
4 whole dried Persian limes, pierced
5 cups finely chopped fresh cilantro
4 cups finely chopped fresh greens, such as spinach or kale
1/2 cup dried fenugreek leaves *(see note 3)
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon sumac
PREPARATION
1. In a dutch oven, sauté onions in half the ghee or half the oil until the moisture is reduced and onions are turning golden. You may need to add more ghee or oil. Add the meat and stir fry until it is browned on all sides, and then add the salt, pepper and turmeric and combine. Pour in 4 cups of water. Add kidney beans and dried Persian limes. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. While the meat is simmering, fry the chopped greens in the remaining oil over medium heat for 20 minutes — or until the aroma from the herbs rises — stirring constantly. This aroma is essential to the taste of the stew.
3. Add the sautéed herbs, lime juice and sumac to the pot. Cover and simmer for another 2-1/2 hours over low heat, stirring occasionally.
4. Check that meat and beans are tender. Taste the stew and adjust the seasoning. Keep covered in a just warm oven until ready to serve.
5. Serve hot with Persian style rice, preferably including tahdig.
NOTES
1. If I don't have dried limes, I use the juice of two limes in their place.
2. If using chicken, use less water and cook for less time.
3. Dried sabzi herb mixes are available for convenience, but dried is never as flavorful as fresh. I used dried fenugreek on occasion, since I can't buy fresh. But this dish is tasty with spinach and/or kale plus cilantro. If using dried herbs, soak them in warm water for 20 minutes and strain before sautéing.
My husband makes the rice.
INGREDIENTS
3 cups basmati rice from the Himalayas
Saffron
Turmeric
Ghee
Avocado Oil
I make it with beef, although it is more traditionally made with lamb. These days, the internet offers recipes for a vegan version as well as all sorts of variations to honor special diets.
Here is my version. Whenever possible, I use organic ingredients. The recipe is modified for my taste, and to accommodate my husband’s hatred of vegetables — which he will eat if they are undetectable — from the original recipe in my favorite Persian cookbook New Food of Life. This is a fabulous book of recipes, evocative photography, and cultural information.
Khoresh-e gormeh sabzi (CP-style)
2 large onions, puréed in the food processor
2 pounds USDA prime top sirloin, cut in 2-inch cubes
1/2 cup ghee and 1/2 cup avocado oil
2 teaspoons Celtic sea salt or Himalayan salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 cup dried kidney beans
4 whole dried Persian limes, pierced
5 cups finely chopped fresh cilantro
4 cups finely chopped fresh greens, such as spinach or kale
1/2 cup dried fenugreek leaves *(see note 3)
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon sumac
PREPARATION
1. In a dutch oven, sauté onions in half the ghee or half the oil until the moisture is reduced and onions are turning golden. You may need to add more ghee or oil. Add the meat and stir fry until it is browned on all sides, and then add the salt, pepper and turmeric and combine. Pour in 4 cups of water. Add kidney beans and dried Persian limes. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. While the meat is simmering, fry the chopped greens in the remaining oil over medium heat for 20 minutes — or until the aroma from the herbs rises — stirring constantly. This aroma is essential to the taste of the stew.
3. Add the sautéed herbs, lime juice and sumac to the pot. Cover and simmer for another 2-1/2 hours over low heat, stirring occasionally.
4. Check that meat and beans are tender. Taste the stew and adjust the seasoning. Keep covered in a just warm oven until ready to serve.
5. Serve hot with Persian style rice, preferably including tahdig.
NOTES
1. If I don't have dried limes, I use the juice of two limes in their place.
2. If using chicken, use less water and cook for less time.
3. Dried sabzi herb mixes are available for convenience, but dried is never as flavorful as fresh. I used dried fenugreek on occasion, since I can't buy fresh. But this dish is tasty with spinach and/or kale plus cilantro. If using dried herbs, soak them in warm water for 20 minutes and strain before sautéing.
My husband makes the rice.
Persian Rice with Tahdig (PG-style)
3 cups basmati rice from the Himalayas
Saffron
Turmeric
Ghee
Avocado Oil
PREPARATION
1. Rinse and soak the rice in cold water, handling it very gently to protect the long grains, changing the water six times until it is clear.
1. Rinse and soak the rice in cold water, handling it very gently to protect the long grains, changing the water six times until it is clear.
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