Khoresh Rivas - Persian Rhubarb Stew

It's been a very hot summer so far, the kind where you don't feel like cooking and heating up the oven or turning on the stove. However, I was so excited to have finally found a bunch of fresh rhubarb stalks in a supermarket the other day that it no longer mattered how hot the weather was. I had to cook this savory dish. I adore rhubarbs for they are nutritious and very tasty. I loved rhubarb stew as a kid and I still enjoy its well-balanced tart and sweet taste, served over warm and aromatic rice. I cherished the opportunity to make this delicious sweet and sour lamb stew with fruity flavored rhubarb simmered to perfection in a green sauce filled with chopped parsley and mint. This is a delightful dish that will please your taste buds and is worth the time and the effort that goes into making it.

خورش ریواس - Khoresh rivas - Rhubarb stew is pretty much prepared the same way as celery stew (khoresh karafs). The main difference is that in celery stew you add lemon/lime juice to bring out the flavors and make it tastier whereas in preparing rhubarb stew there's no need to add more acidity to the dish. In order to balance the tart taste of rhubarb, sugar is added to a bring about a perfect sweet and sour consistency.

Khoresh Rivas - Persian Rhubarb Stew

Ingredients:
Serves 4-6

5 stalks of rhubarb--washed, dried and cut into small bite-sized pieces
1-1/2 pounds of meat (lamb, beef or chicken), washed and cubed
1 large onion-- peeled, finely chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch of parsley-- remove the thick stems, wash and chop (makes about 2 cups, packed)
1 bunch of mint, leaves only, wash and chop (makes about 1 cup, packed)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon, liquid saffron
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon sugar or to taste *optional
Vegetable oil/olive oil
Water

Method:

1. In a pan, heat 2-3 tablespoons of oil, saute chopped onions until translucent. Add garlic and turmeric, stir, add the meat and brown on all sides. Add salt, pepper and saffron. Pour enough water to cover the meat by couple of inches. Cover and cook for an hour on medium to low heat.
2.  In a medium-sized frying pan, saute the chopped parsley and mint together in 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Combine the parsley and mint mixture with the meat sauce half way through the cooking. Add water if necessary.
3. Lightly saute sliced rhubarbs in 2 tablespoons of olive oil for 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Add the rhubarb to the pot, lower the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for about 10 minutes.
4. Taste and add a tablespoon of sugar or to taste, gently stir and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Serve warm with basmati rice.

Enjoy!

Ash-e Miveh - Fresh Fruit Soup

The chickpea

A chickpea in a pot leaps from the flame

out of the boiling water,

crying, "Why do you set fire to me? You chose me, bought me, brought me home for this?"

The cook hits it with the spoon into the pot.

No! Boil nicely, don't jump away from the one who makes fire. 

I don't boil you out of hatred.

Through boiling, you may grow flavorful and nourishing, and be united with the vital human spirit.

I don't inflict suffering out of spite.

Once green and fresh, you drank rain in the garden;

You drank rain for the sake of this fire.

~ Poem by Mowlana Jalaluddin Rumi

~ Translation by Colman Barks

 آش میوه Ash-e miveh is a hearty Iranian soup made with fresh, juicy summer fruits, tasty pinto beans, buttery chickpeas, and a little bit of spices. You will be pleasantly surprised by the textures and the delicate flavors of this flavorful soup. According to my sister-in-law, my mother used to make this soup frequently, and I've made this soup several times in the past few months. This is the version of fresh fruit soup that I like the best, and I'm pleased with the results. There's a second variation of this soup at the bottom of the page that you might also like.*

Fresh Fruit Soup (Ash Miveh)

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

-1 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight or for at least 6-8 hours, drained
-1 cup pinto beans, soaked overnight
-2 peaches, peeled, cut into chunks
-2 plums, peeled, cut into chunks
-2 nectarines, cut into chunks
-3 apricots, cut into chunks
-1 bunch of parsley, chopped (1 cup packed)
-1 bunch of scallions, chopped (1 cup packed)
-1 medium onion, thinly sliced
-2 garlic cloves, minced
 -A pinch of red pepper flakes
-A dash of crushed cardamom
-1/3 teaspoon turmeric
-1 cup of thin soup noodles
-1-2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon/lime juice

-Salt and pepper

-Olive oil

Method:

1. Place the soaked chickpeas and pintobeans into a large pot with 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 50 minutes.
2. Add the chopped parsley and scallions to the pot and stir.
3. In a small skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Sauté the sliced onions until golden. Add turmeric, stir, then mix in the minced garlic, cardamom, and red pepper flakes. Sauté for 3-5 minutes.
4. Add the skillet mixture (onion, garlic, spices) to the pot and continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes. Add noodles and more water if needed.
5. Add the fruits to the soup and simmer on the lowest heat setting for another 20-30 minutes, allowing the fruits to soften without losing their shape. 
6. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Add lemon juice to brighten the flavor.

Serve warm with bread.

*Variation: This is a wonderful and rather sweet version of the above recipe. This is more or less the same recipe as above, but the following changes were made.

1. In addition to the fruits and vegetables, I've also added a medium-sized beet (peeled and cut into small pieces) and a small sliced carrot. 
2. Instead of a cup of chickpeas, I used 1/2 a cup of chickpeas and 1/2 a cup of yellow split peas.
3. I didn't use any spices other than salt and pepper. 
4. No sauteed onion and garlic either.
5. For a sweeter taste, I added a tablespoon of honey. You may add a tablespoon of sugar.
6. This soup has a beautiful color as well as an interesting and delicious taste.

Enjoy!

Baghali Pokhteh - Cooked Fava Beans

I've always loved the taste of creamy باقالی پخته cooked fava beans/broad beans (baghali) with a dash of salt, a sprinkle of groundگلپر golpar (Persian hogweed), and a squeeze of fresh lemon. I grew up with fava beans and that's how it was always prepared in our home. Fava bean season is very short but it's worth the wait. They are soft and creamy when cooked, have a nutty flavor, and are quite addictive. It's hard to find fresh fava beans in the supermarkets and vegetable stores where I live, they are mostly available dried.

This is a down-to-earth finger food that you cook and serve to people you are comfortable around because it may be a little messy removing the layers with your fingers, but that's part of the enjoyment of eating cooked fava beans! My guess is that since fava beans were cooked in large quantities for many people in the past it would have been too time-consuming to remove not one but two thick and tough layers of skins, therefore cooking the whole thing all at once was a better option and an easier and quicker way of dealing with these hidden edible treasures. This way, everyone in the family would participate and join in on the fun task of removing the layers for their own consumption. Thus, this recipe is very easy and there's almost no preparation time besides rinsing them and washing the outer layer under running water, while they are nestled in their waxy pods. However, if you prefer, remove the shells before cooking.

I remember the spring when my parents decided to plant fava beans in our side garden. They grew fast and became tall and beautiful. On a beautiful sunny afternoon, when all the energetic kids on our block came home from school, this fava bean field seemed like such a great place for playing hide-and-seek. The aftermath wasn't pretty though and the ground ended up being covered by ravaged fava bean plants. Let's just say my parents weren't too pleased with what they saw early that evening! That was the last time they planted fava beans in our garden.

Baghali Pokhteh - Cooked Fava Beans

Ingredients:
Serves 4-6

3 pounds of fresh fava beans in pods
Salt to taste
1-2 tablespoons Persian hogweed powder, It may be found in most Middle Eastern grocery stores


Method:

1. Rinse fava beans and place in a large pot. Pour enough water to cover all the beans. 
2. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for about 45 minutes or until the beans are thoroughly cooked. Add salt to taste in the last 10-15 minutes of cooking. Once cooked, drain the water, let cool a few minutes and remove the thick outer layer. 

Serve warm on a platter with golpar, salt, lemon/lime juice, or sumac.

Enjoy!

Upside-Down Persian Macaroni With The Crunchy Bottom Layer (Tah-Dig)

In one of my earlier posts, I wrote about Persian macaroni. This is a revisit, with a special focus on making the ته دیگ ماکارونی (macaroni tahdig), that golden crust at the bottom of the pan. It's where the noodles meet the hot oil with a pinch of turmeric and transform into a flavorful and golden crunchy layer.

A good tahdig is crispy but not burned, crunchy but not hard. Those familiar with Persian food know that tahdig is one of the most sought-after parts of any rice dish. Personally, I often prefer the flavorful tahdig to the fluffy, aromatic rice itself!  

Noodles, too, make a delicious tahdig when used in pasta dishes. And if your tahdig turns out a bit harder than you expected, simply spoon a bit of sauce over it and spread it to soften before taking the first bite. Here's a link to my other tahdig recipe: The Art of Making Persian Tah-Dig.

For a family of six kids, simple, easy Persian-style macaroni and pasta with ground meat and tomato sauce always had a place on our dinner table while growing up. It was one of my favorite dishes then, and now I enjoy making it for my family. Back home, my mother always cooked pasta with the hollow spaghetti noodles (bucatini). I loved those hollow noodles, and I've looked for them many times while grocery shopping here, but they are hard to find. It seems that they aren't as popular as the other kinds of noodle varieties in most stores. 

Macaroni Tah Dig - Upside-Down Persian Macaroni with the Crunchy Bottom Layer

Ingredients

Serves 6-8

-1 pound ground beef
-1 pound spaghetti 
-1 large onion, finely chopped
-1 large tomato, peeled and diced
-2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
-1 can (16 oz) tomato sauce 
-1/3 teaspoon turmeric
-2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
-Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Olive oil

Method:

1. In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, and sauté until translucent. Stir in the garlic and saute for another 2-3 minutes. Add the turmeric, and continue cooking for another minute before adding the ground beef. Break the beef into tiny pieces with a fork and brown evenly. Scoop out any excess fat. Season with salt and pepper. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and 1/2 cup of water. Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 20-30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to the package instructions, but drain 2-3 minutes before they become al dente (it will finish cooking later with the sauce).
3. In a non-stick heavy-bottomed pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add a pinch of turmeric and swirl to evenly coat the bottom of the pot. Add a layer of the noodles, then a layer of the meat sauce, continuing to layer until all are used up, finishing with a layer of noodles. Place a clean, soft kitchen towel over the pot and secure the lid. Cook on medium-low heat for about 45-50 minutes. 
4. To serve, place a large serving platter over the pot. Using a kitchen towel, hold on to the sides of the pot and carefully invert the pot so the macaroni releases onto the platter. Cut it as you would a cake, or spoon noodles and the sauce mixture onto a platter and sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley. Gently remove the crust and serve it on the side or on top.

Enjoy!