Sabzi Khordan

Nothing is cooked or dressed: whole raw herbs on a platter, eaten by the handful.

Not vegetarian — contains feta whose rennet the source does not name.

Ingredients

• 1 large bunch basil, or purple basil
• 1 large bunch mint
• 1 large bunch flat-leaf parsley
• 1 small bunch tarragon
• 1 small bunch coriander
• 6 spring onions or small leeks
• 12 radishes
• 200 g feta or other brined white cheese
• 80 g walnut halves
• flatbread, to serve

Method

1. NOTHING IS COOKED OR DRESSED: WHOLE RAW HERBS ON A PLATTER, EATEN BY THE HANDFUL. Its article describes it as any combination of a set of fresh herbs and raw vegetables, served alongside the meal, and that is the entire method. There is no oil, no acid, no salt and no chopping. It is worth saying plainly because every instinct a cook has is to do something to it, and the whole function of the dish is to be the one thing on an Iranian table that has had nothing done to it -- cold, raw and bitter, against stews that have simmered for three hours.
2. THE HERBS ARE LEFT IN SPRIGS, NOT CHOPPED. You tear off what you want. Chopped, they wilt within twenty minutes and become a salad.
3. THEY ARE WASHED AND DRIED AND KEPT COLD UNTIL THE MOMENT. Washed in plenty of cold water, spun or towel-dried, and kept wrapped in a damp cloth in the fridge. Limp herbs are the only way to get this wrong.
4. SEVEN THINGS ITS ARTICLE NAMES AS THE COMMONEST. Basil or purple basil, mint, parsley, tarragon, coriander, leek and radishes. Tarragon is the one people leave out and should not: it is the most assertive thing on the plate.
5. THE RADISHES ARE WHOLE, WITH A LITTLE OF THE LEAF LEFT ON. They are there for crunch and pepper against the soft herbs.
6. IT IS MADE INTO A PARCEL AT THE TABLE, AND THAT HAS A NAME. Its article describes building a loqmeh -- a roll-up bite -- from bread, cheese and herbs, colloquially called naan panir sabzi. A piece of flatbread, a lump of cheese, a fistful of herbs, a walnut, folded and eaten whole.
7. THE CHEESE IS A BRINED WHITE ONE AND ONE OF THEM IS A PAGE HERE. Its article names several, including Lighvan Cheese, as on its own page. Feta is the nearest thing on most shop shelves.
8. WALNUTS AND A SOUR CONDIMENT COMPLETE IT. Its article lists walnuts and condiments including pomegranate molasses and grape syrup. A drizzle of pomegranate molasses over the cheese is the common one.

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