It's Easy Being Green

Najmieh Batmanglij's cookbook, "New Food of Life", continues to be one of my favorite sources of inspiration. There doesn't seem to be enough I can learn about Persian or Iranian cuisine, it's just so rife with color, aroma and flavor.

In a fit of ambition, I recently attempted to make Fresh Herb Khoresh (Khoresh-e qormeh sabzi). I've been told by a close Iranian friend that qormeh sabzi (or ghormeh sabji -- it's spelled in a myriad of ways) is one of the most quintessential of Persian comfort foods. Wikipedia indicates that this stew is said to be the Iranian national dish.

Which is fascinating because India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and other regions once ruled by the Persian Empire also boast localized versions of the sabzi or sabji stew. Depending where you are, sabzi could mean "green", "vegetable", "carrot" or other similarly vegetal terms.

Despite my dedication to authenticity, it's not always easy for me to get a hold of all the ingredients I need for cuisines yet unfamiliar to me. Fresh fenugreek and dried Persian limes weren't at my local No Frills, and so I had to improvise.

I bought fenugreek seeds which I bundled in cheesecloth and dropped into the pot. To sub for dried Persian limes, I had leftover liquid from my last jar of lime pickles, which I had made ages ago using a Nigella Lawson recipe from her "How to Be a Domestic Goddess" cookbook.

If you're wondering why I bundled the fenugreek seeds, this is an ounce of wisdom I earned the hard way. First, let me point out that fenugreek seeds are hard as stone. I once made the horrendous mistake of sprinkling fenugreek seeds into a soup, thinking they would soften and blend in. After hours and hours of simmering, the seeds finally got soft enough to chew. And then I bit into one. I puckered up and cringed -- it was unspeakably bitter with an acetone aftertaste. The only good thing to come out of that kitchen disaster was the discovery that fenugreek yields a mouth-watering aroma. So, steep it but don't keep it.

The stew gets its green from the 6-7 cups' worth of herbs (parsley, chives/scallions, coriander, and fresh fenugreek if you got it) that are finely chopped and sauteed before mixed in with everything else. I normally find myself in the predicament of buying a massive bundle of parsley only to use a sprig or two in a recipe; this recipe used the entire bundle of everything green I had. I must have been chopping for 10-15 minutes. No complaints -- I found it cathartic, whacking away at a heap of herbs with my biggest knives.

The recipe called for about 2.5 hours of simmering, but I let it go for 4 hours. When it was done, the meat of the lamb chops I threw in were falling off the bones. I really can't say if the taste was genuine, but I certainly couldn't get enough of it. Can't wait to try it again, maybe next time with the proper Persian groceries. If you know of any Persian/Iranian shops in the central GTA area, let me know!