Iranian Rhubarb Khoresh Recipes

KHORESH RIVAS (SAVORY RHUBARB AND BEAN STEW)

Steps:

• Bring a few tablespoons of water to a boil in a small pot. Let the boiling water stand for 2 minutes to allow the temperature to drop slightly while you grind the saffron. Using a mortar and pestle (or a small bowl and the handle of a wooden spoon), grind a pinch of sugar with the saffron to a fine powder (you should have about ¼ teaspoon total). Add 2 tablespoons of the hot water, gently stir, cover and let steep until ready to use.
• In a large pan, heat ¼ cup of olive oil over medium. Add the parsley and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and slightly darkened, about 8 minutes. Drizzle in more oil if the pan seems too dry. Add the mint and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Keep in mind that mint burns very quickly. Remove from the heat and set aside until ready to use. (You'll reuse this pan.)
• In a large, deep sauté pan with a lid, or a Dutch oven, heat ¼ cup of the olive oil over medium-high. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with a little salt, and reduce the heat to medium. Add the turmeric, stir and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the beans, season well with salt and pepper, and cook, gently stirring without breaking the beans, until the flavors have mingled, about 5 minutes. Taste a bean and make sure it's salted to your liking. The turmeric might feel overpowering at this point, but it will mellow as the stew simmers.
• To the beans, add the parsley and mint mixture (keeping the pan handy), 2 cups water and half of the saffron water, and season with salt. Gently stir and bring to a rapid simmer. Partly cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer, occasionally stirring, for 30 minutes, until the flavors have mingled and the oil rises.
• Add the rest of the saffron water, the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon sugar. Stir and simmer, partly covered, for 15 minutes. Taste as the stew simmers and season as needed. Add more water to the stew if necessary to make it juicier, or remove the lid to reduce the liquid. There should be plenty of liquid to spoon over rice, but it shouldn't be soupy. The stew can be made 1 day in advance up to this point.
• Meanwhile, wipe clean the reserved pan from the herbs. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and heat over medium. Add the rhubarb and cook until the color deepens on each side, about 2 minutes per side. You're not fully cooking the rhubarb here; it should maintain its shape and still have a slight bite to it, as it will finish cooking in the stew.
• Gently place the rhubarb pieces in the stew, increase the heat to medium-low and cook, partly covered, until the rhubarb is tender and releases its tangy flavor, about 10 minutes. Don't stir the rhubarb; you want it to maintain its shape and not turn mushy. Taste the stew as it simmers; add more lemon juice for extra acidity, if needed, and more sugar for balance, if you like. Serve over rice.

KHORESH RIVAS (PERSIAN RHUBARB STEW WITH MEAT)

Steps:

• Chop up the rhubarb into 2.5cm (1") long stalks.
• Dice the meat into bite size pieces if not done so already.
• Chop the onions, not too finely.
• Chop up the parsley and mint, these don't have to be done finely, as they'll be cooked down.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Fry the onions for 3 minutes until they soften.
• Add the turmeric, stir, then add the meat. Increase the heat to high and stir to mix.
• Add 1 Tbsp of the sugar, stir, then fry the meat for 2 minutes on this high heat.
• Add the water or stock, stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat down to its lowest setting, cover and simmer for 1 hour, until the meat is done, but not falling apart, as we still have another 30 minutes or so of cooking time. Depending on your meat cut, this may be at the 90 minute mark, as some cuts will take longer to cook. It does also depend on how large your meat pieces are.
• At the end of 1 hour, tip in the chopped parsley and mint and cover once again and leave to simmer for 15 minutes.
• At the end of the 15 minutes, heat the 3rd Tbsp of oil in large frying pan on high heat and sauté the rhubarb for 1 minute, shaking the pan and flipping the rhubarb.
• Then, tip this rhubarb into the stew, cover, and leave to cook for 10 minutes, still on low heat. You can cook it until the rhubarb has all broken down, or stop before that stage. What I do, is fish out about 6-8 pieces, and leave the rest to fall apart in the stew, adding to the texture. Then I add the pieces back and serve.
• Taste the stew before turning the heat off. Add the second Tbsp of sugar if you would like it less sour, even more if you prefer it the tartness tampered down. That's it, serve with rice.

IRANIAN RHUBARB KHORESH

Steps:

• In a heavy pan, gently fry onions in a tbsp oil til brown and remove.
• Add more oil and brown lamb in small batches.
• Return onion and lamb to pan and add juice, spices stock and salt. Cover and simmer 1 hours.
• Fry herbs in 2 tbsp oil for several minutes to beyond wilting but not crisp. Add to pan, cover, simmer 15 minutes.
• Reduce the sauce to curry consistency ( may need to take out meat ), then add rhubarb and simmer another 10 minutes. Serve piping hot with rice and vegetables.