Ghormeh Sabzi

The herbs are fried slowly until they darken and smell nutty, and that is most of the flavour.

Lamb. Not vegetarian — contains lamb.

Ingredients

• 700 g lamb shoulder, in 3 cm cubes
• 300 g parsley, finely chopped
• 150 g coriander, finely chopped
• 100 g leek tops or green onions, finely chopped
• 40 g dried fenugreek leaves
• 200 g red kidney beans, soaked overnight
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
• 5 dried limes, pierced twice each
• 120 ml sunflower oil
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt

Method

1. THE HERBS ARE FRIED SLOWLY UNTIL THEY DARKEN AND SMELL NUTTY, AND THAT IS MOST OF THE FLAVOUR. Its article calls them carefully sauteed and the care is the recipe. Nearly six hundred grams of chopped parsley, coriander and leek tops go into a wide pan with a hundred and twenty millilitres of oil over a medium-low heat, and they are turned for twenty-five to thirty-five minutes. They collapse, then dry, then go from bright green to deep olive-black and start to smell toasted rather than grassy. That transformation is the dish. Herbs thrown in raw give a stew that tastes thin and green and faintly of lawn, and no amount of simmering afterwards will fix it.
2. DRIED FENUGREEK LEAF IS THE KEY SPICE AND IT GOES IN AT THE END OF THE FRYING. Its article names it exactly that. Forty grams, stirred in for the last two or three minutes only -- it is powerful and it turns acrid if it fries for long. Leave it out and the stew is pleasant and unrecognisable.
3. THE GREENS ARE PARSLEY, CORIANDER AND LEEK, AND NOT WHATEVER IS IN THE FRIDGE. Its article is unusually direct about this: any dark bitter green can be used -- kale, mustard greens, turnip greens -- but none of them is part of the original recipe and none is typically used. The proportion matters too: parsley is the bulk, coriander about half as much, leek or green onion less again.
4. RED KIDNEY BEANS, SOAKED OVERNIGHT. Its article notes the disagreement: the common version throughout the country uses red kidney beans and one southern version uses black-eyed beans. Soaked twelve hours and boiled separately until nearly tender before they join the stew, because their cooking time is unrelated to the lamb's.
5. THE LAMB IS BROWNED WITH ONION AND TURMERIC IN A SEPARATE PAN. Onions soft and gold first, turmeric for thirty seconds, then the meat on a high heat until it has colour on all sides. Browned in the herb pan it would stop the herbs frying and start them steaming.
6. FIVE DRIED LIMES, PIERCED, AND THEY ARE THE SOUR BACKBONE. In after the stew has come together. Pierced twice each, never crushed. Towards the end press them against the side of the pot with a spoon to let more out, and taste before adding a sixth.
7. TWO HOURS AT A BARE SIMMER AND THEN IT RESTS. Herbs, meat, beans and limes together with water to cover, lid on, two hours. It is better the next day and most people make it that way.
8. IT IS SERVED OVER SAFFRON RICE WITH A CRUST. Its article pairs it with Persian steamed saffron rice and tahdig, as on its own page, and also allows flatbread. Shirazi salad, as on its own page, and a yogurt and cucumber dip are the usual sides.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Iran · All recipes