Aprilized Ghormeh Sabzi

 

 

I met and fell in love with my Iranian husband during my first year in college. We saw each other nearly every day. We were with each other during the Iranian Revolution and we watched the news each evening where pictures of blind-folded hostages served as backdrops. We were growing together as the relations between our countries caused them to drift ever further apart.

Mohammad was here on a student visa and when he graduated with his Masters he had to return to Iran. We were separated by continents and an ocean. The gulf between our countries was even wider, separated by politics, religion, greed…; those things that make oceans and continents seem minuscule.

Relations between our countries remained cold and Mohammad could not return to the states. Finally, in 1986 he was allowed to return on a fiancé visa and we were married. Since that time, my husband has told me how to make some Persian dishes.

Now, I am certain that when he was at home in Iran, he was not in the kitchen helping his mother and his sisters prepare meals. In spite of this, he does enjoy good food and while he was away from home in Teheran earning his bachelor’s degree, he probably threw together a few bachelor meals based on how he thought they were prepared. So my recipe for ghormeh sabzi is based on, perhaps the inexpert, cooking instructions given to me by my husband. Of course, I tend to tweak most recipes a bit. My tweaking does not make them better, but it does make them more compatible with my tastes. When I tweak a recipe, I say it has been Aprilized. So, this recipe is an Aprilized version of a Mohammadized version of a beloved Persian dish.



Ghormeh Sabzi

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups of dried ghormeh sabzi vegetables

5 dried whole limes

I large onion

1 can petite diced tomatoes

2 cans light red kidney beans

1 can of pinto beans

5 beef bouillon cubes

3 good splashes of hot sauce

About 1 1/4 pounds of lean beef roast like round, shoulder or sirloin tip



Preparation:

Put ghormeh sabzi vegetables into a glass bowl and cover them with boiling water. Place a plate over the bowl and place it aside while you work.

 
 

 

Dice a large yellow onion. Place onion into a large frying pan on the stove with a splash of olive oil on medium to medium-low heat. Stir occasionally, taking care not to scorch.

 

 
 
Cut the beef into approximately ½ inch cubes for 3+ cups of cubes. Place a pressure cooker on the stove on high heat. Put a splash of olive oil in it and when it is hot place 1/3 of the cubed beef in it to brown, stirring frequently. When it has browned and no juices are present, transfer cubes into a bowl lined with paper towels. Return the pressure cooker to the stove, and repeat the process until all beef cubes are browned.

 

   

 

 
After all of the beef has browned, return all of the beef to the pressure cooker. Cover the beef with water plus ½ inch. Put the lid onto the pressure cooker for the pressure setting and turn the heat to high until the pressure builds up and then turn the temp to med-med/low, just keeping the pressure up. Pressure-cook the beef for 25 minutes.
 

 

  

Meanwhile, place the sabzi vegetables into a mesh strainer. I use the back of a spoon to squeeze the water out of the vegetables. After the sabzi has drained well, place it into the frying pan with the onions and stir. While the beef is cooking, continue to saute the onions and sabzi, stirring occasionally being careful not to scorch. Pierce the dried limes a few times with a knife and set them aside.

 

 

 

 

 

After the beef has finished, let the pressure release and open the pressure cooker. Put the cooker back over high heat. Add the tomatoes, the onion/sabzi mixture, the bouillon cubes, the hot sauce, and dried limes. After the mixture begins to boil, turn the heat down so that it simmers. Stir occasionally, and occasionally push the limes against the side of the pot with the back of your stirring utensil to squeeze the liquid from them.

 

 
   

 

Meanwhile, drain the beans into a colander and rinse. Set aside.

 

 

I simmer this dish for at least an hour. If the liquid gets too low, add a bit of boiling water. About twenty minutes prior to serving stir in the beans to heat.

Serve with rice.