Qormeh Sabzi Recipes

GHORMEH SABZI

Steps:

• Wash the herbs in a large bowl, then dry and chop finely.
• In a large skillet, heat 4 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium heat and sauté the fresh herbs for about 15 minutes, while stirring occasionally. Set aside.
• In a Dutch oven or a large pot, sauté the chopped onions in 2 tablespoons of oil for about 10 minutes, until golden brown.
• Add the meat, turmeric, salt, pepper to the onions and fry for about 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add the soaked dried beans, the fried herbs and the black limes.
• Cover with water and bring to a boil on high heat. Then, lower the heat, cover and simmer on low to medium heat for about 2 hours.
• Taste and add salt or pepper if needed. Add water and continue to simmer if the meat is not tender enough.
• Serve over Persian steamed rice.

GHORMEH SABZI (PERSIAN HERB STEW)

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook and stir until deep golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in turmeric for 1 to 2 minutes. Add chuck cubes; cook until coated in turmeric and browned on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a separate pot over medium heat. Add spinach, green onions, parsley, cilantro, chives, and fenugreek leaves; cook and stir until deep dark green in color, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Stir spinach mixture into the onion and chuck mixture. Pour in enough water to create a slurry consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in lemon juice. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer stew until greens soften, about 1 hour.
• Pierce dried limes with a fork and add to the stew. Continue simmering until chuck is tender, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Stir in red kidney beans. Cook until flavors combine, about 30 minutes. Discard dried limes before serving.

GHORMEH SABZI

Steps:

• The night (about 12 hours) before you want to cook this dish, leave the kidney beans in some water so that they will absorb some of it. It's a good idea to change and replace the water two or three times.
• Dice the onion. Use some oil to stir fry it in a pot. In order to make it look better and more delicious, after they've been fried add a little turmeric.
• Cut and chop the (boned) meat cubes and add them to the onions. Fry them until the color of the meat has changed.
• Use a different pot to cook the kidney beans. You don't need to cook them completely, just cook them until they are half-cooked.
• Add 3 glasses of boiling water to the onion and meat cubes. Cover the pot with its lid. Lower the flame of the gas burner because the meat needs to be cooked over a longer period of time with little heat.While the meat is being cooked, wash the vegetables and chop them into small pieces. In a pan, fry them.
• When the meat is half-cooked, separate the water and the kidney beans from each other. Add the kidney beans and the fried vegetables to the meat cubes. Now, we must add the dried limes. But remember, before you add them to the stew, you must pierce them using a fork. After adding the dried limes, pour two or three glasses of water into the pot.
• Almost after leaving the pot on the gas burner for two hours, the stew must be well-prepared. Now, it's time to add the flavors, salt and unripe grape juice. In order for the tastes to blend, leave the pot on the gas burner for one more hour.

QORMEH SABZI

Steps:

• Using a food processor process the herbs until very fine. In two of the tbsp of oil cook the Qormeh Sabzi mix, Parsley and Cilantro at high heat. You will see the herbs darken and dry out. The more you cook them the more flavorful they will be. Stir constantly to avoid burning. Once the herbs are darkened and release a flavorful smell, turn off and set aside.
• Cook the onion at medium heat in the oil until golden. Add the chopped meat, browning on all sides. Drain fat if needed. Do not cook all the way, otherwise it will become tough.
• Add the cooked herbs, kidney beans, s/p to taste and 1 cup of water.
• Set the dish to low heat and simmer covered for an hour.
• Punch a hole into each of the Persian Limes. Add the Persian Limes. Simmer for another hour. Watch so the mixture does not dry out. If this happens add another cup of water.
• Serve over Basmati rice.
• Can also make this dish vegan/vegetarian by discarding the meat.

CHORESH QORMEH SABZI (GREEN HERB STEW)

Steps:

• Beef should be trimmed of fat and cut in 1-to-1 1/2-inch cubes.
• Heat half of oil in 2 1/2-to-3-quart Dutch oven or other stew pot and add onions. Saute over very low heat until just slightly brown. Add beef and stir with onions. Add half salt and pepper. Cover and let simmer gently but steadily over low heat for about 2 hours. Stir at intervals to prevent scorching and check to be sure there is enough liquid, adding water only if necessary.
• While beef is cooking, prepare greens. Wash leek thoroughly and chop white and green portions separately.
• Heat remaining oil in deep skillet or wide saucepan and add white portion of leek. Saute gently over moderate heat for about 5 minutes, or until it begins to soften. Add green portion of leek and saute for another 5 minutes, or until it begins to soften. Leeks should not take on color. Add chopped spinach and saute for 5 minutes, then parsley and saute for 5 minutes. Add cilantro and saute for 5 minutes and then dill. Saute for 5 minutes. By this time mixture should be reduced to a near sauce but should still be bright green. Set aside.
• When meat is thoroughly cooked, stir in green sauce and reheat together for about 5 minutes before serving. Adjust seasonings, adding lemon juice to taste.
• If prepared in advance, green sauce can be added to cooked beef and they can be reheated together before serving. Serve stew spooned over steamed rice.

KHORESH-E GHORMEH SABZI (PERSIAN HERB, BEAN AND LAMB STEW)

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, season the meat with turmeric, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.
• Rinse the beans and place in a medium bowl with 1 cup water and a generous pinch of salt. Set aside to soak for 30 minutes.
• In the meantime, place a large Dutch oven or similar pot over medium-high heat. Add 3 tablespoons oil. When it shimmers, add meat and cook, turning regularly so that it browns evenly on all sides, about 15 minutes. Once the meat has browned, move it to the edges of the pot and add the onion to the center of the pot, along with a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring regularly, until the onion begins to soften and turn brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Drain the beans and add to the pot, stirring to combine everything and coat the beans with oil. Add 4 cups water, increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover pot and simmer for 2 hours.
• In the meantime, prepare the herbs: Wash parsley and cilantro, then use a salad spinner to dry very well. Remove and discard the tough stems. Chop the leaves and tender stems very, very finely, or feel free to use a food processor to get these herbs as finely chopped as possible. The more finely chopped the herbs, the more green and unctuous the ghormeh sabzi will be.
• Separately chop the chives and entire bunch of scallions (including the green tops) as finely as possible by hand. These, too, must be very finely chopped - nearly minced - but they will turn to mush in a food processor and thus should be chopped by hand.
• Set a large frying pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the remaining 1/4 cup oil and the scallion-chive mixture. Allow to wilt, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes, then add remaining chopped herbs and fenugreek leaves, crushing the fenugreek leaves between your fingers as you add them. Cook, stirring continuously, until the herbs are wilted and very dark green - but not burned - and they give off a bright green oil when pressed with a spoon, 18 to 20 minutes. This step is crucial to the flavor and color of the stew. You'll know the herbs are ready when they feel dry and emit a strong, savory aroma.
• When the meat has cooked for 2 hours, add the cooked herb mixture, Omani limes and 1/2 cup water. Season with salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover pot, and simmer for another hour. Check on the limes occasionally to make sure they are submerged in the stew but not falling apart. Gently push them into the stew if they're still floating after 20 minutes.
• As the stew nears the 3-hour mark, remove the lid and check the meat; it should be very tender. If the ghormeh sabzi seems a little watery, leave it uncovered for the last 20 minutes of cooking and allow to reduce into a thick stew. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. If the stew needs a little acidity, juice a lime into the stew through a sieve by pressing down on it with a spoon (avoid letting the seeds through the sieve, as they can be bitter). Set aside. Taste the stew and continue adding more lime juice until the stew is sufficiently tangy. Stir in the saffron. The stew should be a very deep, dark shade of green and quite thick when done. Return dried limes into the stew to serve.
• Serve hot with Persian rice and mast-o khiar.

PERSIAN LAMB AND CHICKPEA STEW (QORMEH SABZI)

Steps:

• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large heavy pan, and saute the lamb until well browned on all sides.
• Add the onion, cooking until soft, then add salt, pepper to taste, turmeric, lemon juice, and water, bringing to a boil.
• Lower heat and cover, simmering for 15 minutes.
• Heat 2 tbsp oil in a skillet and saute the onions, celery leaves, spinach, and parsley for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Add these vegetables and the chickpeas to the meat and mix together thoroughly.
• Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer another 20 minutes, or until meat is tender, adding water as necessary to keep up with consistency.
• Serve with steamed basmati rice.

GHORMEH SABZI

Steps:

• Wash all the greens (parsley, cilantro, spinach chives, green onion, and leeks) to remove all dirt and sediment.
• Using a food blender chop all the greens finely. I do not remove the storks if they are fresh as this gives added fibre. but this is a matter of taste
• Fry the greens in a wok or large pan with the olive oil until they have wilted and shrunk in size. This will take about 25-30 minutes.
• Then add the turmeric, pepper when the greens have wilted. Add the drained beans and the 3 cups of water
• Bring this mixture to a boil, then let simmer for 30-45 minutes. While the mixture is simmering, remove the skins of the dried limes, returning the flesh of the limes to the stew. (If you use fresh limes it will make it very bitter but the cure for this is coconut milk)
• Add tomato paste and continue to simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add lemon juice right before serving. Adding it gradually based on taste
• I serve the stew on its own, but you can serve with basmati rice. If you prefer to use meat instead of beans just add Kidney beans and cubed braising steak or lamb wich is more traditional.