Khoresh Ghormeh Sabzi
Persian beef and fresh herb stew
Ingredients
Kidney beans
- 2/3 cup dried red kidney beans, soaked overnight
- 4 cups water
Stew
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon turmeric, powder
- 1 1/2 pounds stewing beef, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 3 cups water, divided
- 1 teaspoon salt, adjust as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, ground
- 4 Limu Omani (Persian dried limes), poked several times with a paring knife
- 2-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Sabzi (herbs)
- 6 tablespoons olive oil, more as needed
- 2 cups fresh parsley, finely chopped (about 4 bunches)
- 1 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped (about 2 bunches)
- 1 cup scallions or leeks, finely chopped (about 14 scallion stems or 1 small leek)
- 1/4 cup fresh spinach, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons fenugreek leaves, dried
Instructions
Kidney beans
- In a medium sized pot, bring the kidney beans and water to a boil and remove any foam that may rise to the surface.
- Reduce heat, cover and cook for 1 hour or until the beans are fully cooked and soft.
- Rinse and set aside.
Stew
- In a large pot, saute the onions with 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.
- Add the garlic and turmeric, and saute for an additional 2 minutes.
- Add the beef to the pan and toss to coat the beef with the spices and onion. Saute over medium heat for 2 minutes.
- Add 2 cups of water, salt, and pepper, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes.
Sabzi (herbs)
- While the beef and beans are cooking, prepare the herbs by first washing and then lightly drying them between two layers of clean towels. Remove the tougher ends of the stems, about 2 inches from the bottom, and discard.
- Place the herbs one at a time in a food processor and pulse until a fine chop has been achieved. Repeat with the scallions/leeks. Collect and place in a large bowl.
- In a large frying pan, saute the chopped herbs and scallions/leek for 5 minutes in 6 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low as you continue to stir the herbs for another 15 minutes. This is the most intricate part of this dish. The herbs need to begin to dry out while slowly getting cooked and developing a darker color and aroma. Take care not to burn the herbs.
- Remove from the heat and set aside.
Stew (continued)
- Once the beef has been cooking for 45 minutes, add 1 additional cup of water, the cooked and rinsed beans, the herbs, Limu Omani, and lemon juice. Stir.
- Bring the stew back to a simmer before lowering the flame and continuing to cook over low heat, covered, for 45 additional minutes.
- Adjust the stew by adding a small amount of water if needed. Keep in mind that this stew should be moist but not watery.
- Taste and adjust the stew for seasoning. Add more salt or lemon juice as needed.
- Turn the heat off and allow the stew to sit for 10 minutes before serving.
- Serve the stew with Persian saffron steamed basmati rice, a side of yogurt, or pickled eggplants.
Notes
It is traditional to cook the beans in the stew, but I prefer to cook them separately and then add them in the final stages of cooking the stew. Alternatively, a good quality can of ready-cooked kidney beans can be used. Black eyed peas can also be substituted.
This dish can be made with lamb or chicken instead of beef.
To make this dish vegan, simply eliminate the beef and incorporate vegetables such as carrots and mushrooms to the stew.
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