Recipe

This recipe is dedicated to Leila at http://persiankitchen.wordpress.com - Leila is tops in how she teaches us how to cook Persian food, so I know I'm not even trying to replicate her blog postings. But, this is a callout to her about my favorite persian stew Ghormeh Sabzi. If you read my posting "Watching over me" this stew was what I ate on that first day of school. The smell is of dried lime and is exquisite.

Cooking a traditional Persian stew:

Koresh-e Ghormeh-Sabzi

The unique ingredient is dried lime, which can be found at any local Middle Eastern grocery store like those found around San Pablo Avenue and University in my town of Berkeley.

1. Saute onion, add garlic and meat of your choice (normally this is lamb, beef or chicken cut in very small stewing pieces). Saute until golden brown. Add salt, pepper, 1 tsp Tumeric, 4 whole dried limes pierced with a fork, and 1/2 tsp saffron dissolved in a tablespoon of hot water.

2. Pour in 4 1/2 cups of water and and 3/4 cup cooked or canned kidney beans. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover, simmering for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Meanwhile (this is the hard part) fry in 3 tablespoons of oil the following, all finely chopped:

4 cups parsley

1 cup leeks, scallions or chives

1 cup fresh coriander

1 cup fresh fenugreek

If you work and don't have the time to find, buy and chop all these hard-to-find vegetables, visit that same Middle Eastern market and check their freezer section for pre-chopped, even pre-fried vegetables for Ghormeh-Sabzi. Yes, Iranians are too busy to always do this fresh, so don't let step 3 stop you from making this really great stew.

4. Add the sauteed vegetables to the pot of sauteed meat, and add 4 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lime juice. Cover and simmer the stew for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the aroma of the vegetables begins to rise from the pot, you know it's done.

Serve with long-grained or basmati rice. Yum!!

My crockpot adaptation:
Do step one the night before - and refridgerate overnight.
In the morning, add in the pre-fried (now thawed) vegetables, water, and kidney beans. Put crock pot on low for 8 hours.
When you get home from work you've got a wonderful persian stew!!