SABZI HOME RECIPES
Ghormeh Sabzi
This month’s special recipe is ‘Ghormeh Sabzi’
I also know lots of you have had the pleasure of tasting an iconic Iranian meal – Ghormeh Sabzi – and so I’m delighted to share my recipe for this wonderful dish with you all today.
Before Sabzi’s inception, many of you will know I used to host Supper Clubs in my home in Truro. Ghormeh Sabzi was a firm favourite on the menu; it also made an appearance when we served takeaways at Sabzi through the Pandemic. The dish is aromatic and delicate, and a true celebration of the green herbs we so love at Sabzi (our namesake, in fact!).
Substitute the lamb for butternut squash - roast in the oven with some cumin seeds before adding to the stew for the final hour - for an absolutely delicious vegan version… I really hope you enjoy this wonderful dish.
Ingredients
750g lamb shoulder, diced
1 bunch coriander (approx. 30g)
1 bunch parsley (see above)
1⁄2 bunch chives
1⁄2 bunch dill
1 large white onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 bag fresh baby/young leaf
spinach (approx. 200g)
1⁄2 bottle lime juice
1 tin kidney beans, drained
Turmeric and ground fenugreek
Method
Finely dice your onion and gently sweat in a good glug of olive oil over a low-ish heat. I use the oven proof pot in which I’ll cook the stew for this part.
Season the onions generously with salt to help them fry without browning, and freshly ground pepper.
In a separate frying pan, start to brown your meat. I season it in a bowl first so it’s well dressed with salt and pepper before I start cooking.
When your onions have been frying for approx. 10 mins, add your garlic (also finely chopped) and approx. 2.5 tsp turmeric. The turmeric should turn your onion and garlic beautifully golden, but if the pan is looking a little dry, add more oil so that the turmeric gently coats the ingredients rather than sticking to the bottom of the pan.
As your meat is well sealed, start to move it over to your stewing pot – you may need to fry it in two batches.
Deglaze the frying pan with some water from the kettle and add the water into the stew pot. Set aside this frying pan as you can use it again for your fresh veg.
Stir the meat to combine well with your onion and garlic and cover with boiling water; approx. an inch above the meat and onion – it should be loose and soupy. Bring up to the boil and turn right down to simmer.
As this simmers, wash and finely chop your spinach and herbs. Food processors don’t work for this I’m afraid – they tend to make the veg mushy; by hand it is.
Turn your frying pan on a medium heat, add a small splash of water and add your green spinach and herbs to the pan, increasing the quantity gradually as they wilt down. Season well.
As the veg is reducing in volume, add 2 tsp of fenugreek and stir well. The veg should begin to smell earthy and deeply savoury. At this point, tip them all into the meat and water mixture and mix well.
At this stage, I add the drained kidney beans, half of the lime juice and a good splash more water – you want the sauce to be a soupy stew, and not remotely thick or claggy.
Turn the heat right down and put the lid on. At this point you can easily turn the stew off, chill and then put in the oven ahead of an evening with guests, all the hard work is done. Otherwise, continue to stew gently for approx. 2.5 hours until the lamb is meltingly soft. Add the other half of your lime juice in the hour before eating, and taste the sauce at this point – you may want to tweak your seasoning.
As with all slow cooked food, this stew will taste even more special tomorrow (or the day after!). Its fragrant, light sauce makes a refreshing change from usual hearty winter stews, and it is packed with iron and vitamin c.
Easily made vegetarian and vegan by simply leaving out the lamb and increasing kidney bean quantity. Its vibrancy is so unusual and its flavour utterly delicious, I hope you’ll enjoy cooking (and eating) this as much as I do.