Ghormeh Sabzi is an extremely popular Iranian dish that pretty much terrified me growing up.  I mean lets be real this is not exactly a looker.  Mushy greens with giant kidney beans… most kids nightmare.  Maybe if I’d grown up in Iran and hadn’t been programmed on Mac’ N Cheese, Grilled Cheese, Pizza… essentially dairy/carbs… I would have liked Ghormeh Sabzi growing up.

I am making up for lost time in my adult life though and tweaking the recipe at that.  Instead of using duck or chicken which is traditional in this dish, I used sauteed mushrooms to beef it up a bit.  You’d be surprised how hearty this is given that it’s mainly made up of herbs.  Extremely aggressive amounts of herbs.  The dried fenugreek is tough to find so leave it out if you don’t have a trip planned to a Middle Eastern grocer anytime soon although it does give it a distinctly Persian flavor and gave me serious flashbacks to my Dads extreme happiness whenever he was near Ghormeh Sabzi.

I served this with Saffron Rice that I cut with Cauliflower Rice… about a 50/50 mix.  You don’t miss the extra rice… all you taste is the saffron hitting the warm stew.  I also served this with Mast-O Musir… a yogurt condiment that is just shallot and yogurt that I strongly recommend you don’t skip.  I also served it with fresh Iranian flatbread that is perfect for sopping up the stew but you could also scoop some naan up at the store or just lean on the rice for stew sopping.

I loved this dish and was delighted by how much my fiancee loved it… he was all over the leftovers the next day which just get better in the fridge.  Bonus- this dish is vegan and gluten free (unless you use the yogurt condiment) while still being hearty and warm for a winter meal.  I’m dreaming of the next time I’ll make it which is a far cry from my childhood dread.  Yay for adulting.

You’ll need:

• 10 ounces sliced cremini mushrooms
• Grapeseed oil
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 yellow onion, minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• One 15-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 8 ounces spinach, chopped
• 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parlsey, chopped
• 1 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 bunch scallions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons dried fenugreek
• 2 dried  limes, soaked in hot water to cover for 15 minutes
• Juice of half a lemon
• Serve with: Rice, Mast-O Musir, Nan-e Barbari and Shirazi Salad

To Make:

1. Heat a dutch oven over medium high heat and add 3 tablespoons grapeseed oil.  Add onion and saute for 10 -15 minutes.  Add turmeric and garlic and stir one minute.
2. Add the beans and stock.  Bring to boil then reduce simmer for 30 minutes, partially covered.
3. Add spinach, herbs and scallions.  Stab the dried limes with a knife and add to stew with 1/3 cup of the water the limes were soaking in.  Simmer for 20 minutes, adding more lime water if stew gets too thick.
4. Meanwhile, heat a few tablespoons of grapeseed oil over medium heat in a large skillet.  Add mushrooms and turmeric and saute 3-5 minutes until tender.  Season mushrooms with salt.
5. Add mushrooms to stew.  Stir in lemon juice and season with salt/pep.  Turn off heat and let stew rest for 15 minutes.

 Inspired by TheNewPersianKitchen