Recipes!

Here's a recipe for Mexican Chili:

1 lb Ground beef
15 1/2 oz Chili beans; hot and spicy
15 1/2 oz Chili beans; hot
28 oz Tomatoes; cut up
6 oz Tomato paste
1 1/2 c Celery; chopped
1 c Onion; chopped
1/2 c Pepper, green; chopped
4 oz Chili peppers; drained
Seeded and chopped
2 tb Sugar
1 Bay leaf
1 ts Salt
1 ts Marjoram, dried; crushed
1/2 ts Garlic powder
1 ds Pepper
4 oz Mushrooms (optional)

In crockpot combine beans, undrained tomatoes, celery, onion, tomato paste, green pepper, green chilies, mushrooms, sugar, bay leaf, salt, marjoram, garlic powder and pepper.

In skillet brown ground beef; drain and stir into tomato mixture.

Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.

Skim off excess fat. Remove bay leaf; stir before serving.

If you don't have a crockpot handy, perhaps a chafing dish would also suffice.

Alternately, if you'd like to discuss your visits to Chili, like the one where your class trip got really drunk on the cheap local beer and had to be bussed around the local tourist sites with a massive hangover, please recount such tales here.

That and peppers. Peppers with everything.

http://www.io.com/~wallen/chili/t3-2-sm.gif

A little lime juice at the end, the acidity brightens the flavors so they stand out from one another a little more than they would normally;

add spices in at least three different phases so you get "levels";

the regional differences aren't as sharply defined as for barbecue, but they're there, what with the beanless Texans and verde New Mexicans and batfuck insane Cincinnatians;

related to my views on regionalism, authenticity is overrated: there is no Platonic Chili, no ineffable portrait of The Perfect Chili, so anyone claiming there's only one road to get there is off the point; and one of the qualities of chili which shouldn't be overlooked is its greater sympathy for syncretism compared to, for instance, apple pie;

unusual things to add which can work include chopped fresh mango (which is nearly unnoticeable once the chili is done, except in that "this definitely isn't onion or pepper, wtf?" way), peanut butter (which dampens down the spice considerably), and coffee;

cigar and cigarette ash are common ingredients in old-fashioned recipes for chili, the kind that're handed down from father to son;

don't get into the cilantro argument: it seems that some people have a gene (it's assumed to be genetic, anyway) which causes them to taste cilantro as soap or metal; no, it doesn't taste that way to the rest of us; no, we aren't crazy for liking cilantro, and you aren't crazy for hating it, we'd hate it too if it tasted to us like it tastes to you;

living in New Orleans, I learned to like the taste of hot sauce specifically, especially Tabasco, which ages its pepper mass for three years, something no one else does -- adding it adds a different flavor than chile powder, etc.;

chili -- the dish, a mixture of chile peppers and meat; chilli -- British spelling thereof, and of the pepper as well, I think; chile -- the pepper; chile powder -- powdered (or at least finely crushed) chile peppers; chili powder -- a seasoning blend for chili/chilli.

your thoughts on the proper accessory cheeses?

* When I was a kid, when we'd get pizza my parents would always have mushroom, pepper, and onion, so the combination of those vegetables, that smell, is one I always associate with pizza. They got the same thing every time. Me, aside from the 7 or so years when I didn't eat pizza[1], I got something different every time. That was like the point. They give you a whole list of toppings! You can mix or match however you like! It was like the sundae bar at Frankensundae, only it didn't count as dessert. I didn't understand why anyone would get the same pizza every time.

But anyway, when I started cooking, sometime in that no-pizza zone, I started making chili. My mother's family's chili recipe is a soup-can recipe, but surprisingly good for one, using Campbell's Chili Beef soup, which they no longer make (the Chunky one was very different). That's what I started with. Since my mother had a garden, I added peppers and onions, but wasn't sure when they were supposed to go in, so I cooked the chili most of the way and then sprinkled peppers and onions on top, as though it were pizza.

Crunchy chili is weird.

[1] When I was 6, on the first day of elementary school, they had pizza in the cafeteria, and it was this big deal: holy crap, pizza! School has pizza! School is great! Except the pizza I was used to was the pizza from the Greek-owned pizzeria, with the thick dark red sauce and the crust that was crispy and a little chewy; the cafeteria had these enormous rectangles of white bread that turned yellow where it met the orange-y sauce, and cheese that didn't seem to brown. I stopped eating pizza altogether until sometime in junior high. On some level, I think I believed that pizza died that day, that it wasn't simply that the cafeteria had made bad pizza, but that Pizza had in some metaphysical sense been injured and offended.

So I ordered meatball subs every time my family or friends got pizza, despite everything I just said about the love of variety.

* The first time I tried habanero peppers, I didn't realize they were largely the same thing as Scotch bonnets, which I'd heard of. My mother, knowing I liked cooking with spicy food and that it was very hard to find spicy food in New Hampshire, planted the peppers, and I picked a bunch for a pot of chili. Like, handfuls of them. I didn't taste them before using them. I just put in the 2 cups or so of chopped habanero, sauteed, added other stuff, cooked, took a bite, and died.

* I first tried mango in chili after reading Elmore Leonard's Get Shorty, the protagonist of which is Chili Palmer. Decided to make chili called, well, Chili Palmer. Wanted Floridian ingredients, and mango seemed like they probably grew it in Florida.

(It isn't something I use often, I'm more about skewing things very subtly now, like using aleppo pepper and a little cocoa powder for a real dark, earthy base note.)

I urge moderation with the star anise. Eggplant I can't quite picture; would you crisp it first maybe, or just let it melt in?

Anyway though. I don't like cocoa in chili as much as I used to, there's a bitterness that's too much like burned spices in that context -- though a little very dark chocolate (with enough sugar to offset the bitterness) can be all right. The smokiness of chipotle would be a good pairing with that, for instance.

Cinnamon, star anise, etc -- I'm not a fan of Cincinnati-style chilis, but their appeal seems to be greater west of the Mississippi. I pretty much stopped adding cinnamon to chili when I started buying it from Penzey's, because the stuff I have now is strong enough that it's too easy to overdose.

I absolutely LOVE this detail. It is fantastic, I want to put it in a book or something.

Tobacco isn't usually consumed, right? I mean, I don't know anything about chewing tobacco except that you don't swallow it, but I don't know why it's bad to do so and whether it's something that's irrelevant for other forms. Would that be a problem with leaving the tobacco in the chili?

Paul, how was the pork done?

I wonder if additive-free cigarette tobacco would be good: http://www.cigarettetobacco.com/ourtob1.htm

I really don't want to think about a chili cook-off at the Irvine landfill :(

Ah, thought you were here! Never mind then. There's always EMP!

Oh: something I've been doing lately because I usually have it around is adding a spoonful or two of demiglace (in the "stock cooked down until you can slice it with a steak-knife" sense) as the chili cooks. It thickens it the way masa does, and pushes it more towards "brown" instead of "red" so you're less likely to get a chili that tastes like spicy beany spaghetti sauce.

I'm thinking of making a chili soon, so I can have something to eat with the cornbread I'm legally required to make now that I have a cast-iron pan. I'm thinking meat AND beans. Overkill? And what are these 'chili beans,' referred to in the first post. Kidney beans in a can with some spices?

I'm glad you fully understand the obligation of the cast iron pan g00blar. And I do believe you are correct re: canned chili beans.

(but, the chili sauce is going to be incredibly good - another use for the immersion blender!!!)

I don't know - it killed the heat for awhile, but the wine I had with dinner kicked it right back up again. It's more a pleasant hotness now though.

Rock Hardy, do you have a chili secret? I've made chili colorado before but I'm going for a more beany Texas-like thing for this cook-off. Also, I can enter two, so may just dump the cans of Skyline I've got in a pot and bring some Cincinnati-chili-3-ways fixings in.

http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave/taste9.html

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v296/WilliamCrump63/h0gr0ast.jpg

One (1) handful of Panda brand soft black licorice chews
Enough heavy cream to cover them
Sugar to taste
1-2 Tablespoons Sambuca

Cover licorice chews with heavy cream and bring barely to a simmer. Cover and keep on low heat for an hour. Strain off cream and recover licorice chews with barely enough water to cover; simmer for another hour or two until melted, uncover, and cook down into a syrup. Combine with cream and sugar until a bit sweeter than ice cream. Chill.

Whip with immersion blender with whisk attachment, add Sambuca, and freeze.

so there's only '2' recipes on this whole thread?

Add a pinch of saffron to heavy cream and leave it to infuse at a low heat for an hour or so. Add sugar to taste and a bit of vodka or water (helps to keep it from freezing too solid). Chill, whip, and freeze.

Two and a half weeks before that, soak pitted kalamata olives in water overnight, drain, and slice. Cover in sugar syrup of 1 part sugar, 2 parts water. Every day for the next two weeks, reheat the syrup and add a bit more sugar. Skip a day in the middle and three days right before the end. Remove olives from syrup at the end of the two weeks and dry for a couple days on parchment paper.

Melt some dark chocolate in a pan over low heat and pour into a plastic mold that has already had some chopped candied olive thrown into it. Let cool.

Fry bacon in a pan until very crisp, drain the fat off, crumble the bacon coarsely, and add back to the still-hot pan with a handful of crushed toffee; stir until the toffee has melted and adhered to the bacon.

Combine and serve.

Someone asked me to come up with a "savory, or maybe sweet but using savory ingredients" fruitcake, using the candied olives. I haven't hammered that one out yet.

Christmas Tequila Cookies

1 cup of dark brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup of granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups of dried fruit, such as dried
Cranberries or raisins
1 tsp. Baking soda
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Fresh lemon juice
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 bottle Jose Cuervo Tequila (silver or
Gold, as desired)

Sample the Cuervo to check quality. Take a
Large bowl, check the Cuervo.
Again, to be sure it is of the highest
Quality, pour one level cup, and
Drink. Turn on the electric mixer...Beat one
Cup of butter in a large, Fluffy bowl.

Add one seaspoon of thugar. Beat again.
At this point it's best to
Make sure the Cuervo is still OK, so try
Another cup just in case.

Turn off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 leggs
And add to the bowl and
Chuck in the cup of fried druit, pick the
Frigging fruit off floor...

Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets
Stuck in the beaterers, just
Pry it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the
Cuervo to check for Tonsisticity.

Next, sift two cups of salt, or something.
Check the Jose Cuervo.

Now shift the lemon juice and strain your
Nuts. Add one table. Add a spoon of sugar,
or somefink. Whatever you can find.
Greash the oven.

Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to
Fall over. Don't forget to beat off the turner.
Finally, throw the bowl or something, finish
The Cose Juervo and make sure to put the
Stove in the dishwasher.

CHERRY MISTMAS

-- nabisco (--...), February 2nd, 2007 3:36 PM. (nabisco) (later)

Thank god, I thought I was the only person in the world who hated them!

xpost; see, candied kalamatas! certified by pros!

Also, many people ate and enjoyed my eggplant/mushroom based vegan chili experiment! None of them knew what was in it, the little sign had fallen off. This pleased me.

There hasn't been a recipe thread in a while...

I've just perfected a great pasta carbonara recipe, which is actually quite simple, but SO good.

Pasta Carbonara, by BLAM, serves two, or one really hungry person

1/3 box of pasta
1/4 pound of pancetta, diced into smallish pieces
block parmesan cheese
two eggs
olive oil - NOT extra virgin, but the type for grilling/sauteeing
black pepper

1. Start the water, lightly salted, boiling for your pasta
2. In a small pan, heat up some olive oil. Once hot, drop heat to low, and put your pancetta in there. Cook until it starts to get crisp, then turn the pan off.
3. Don't keep watching the pasta water. It will boil. Once it does, put in the pasta.
4. Break eggs into large bowl. Make it a good bowl, as you will be serving out of it. Shred about a half cup of parm into eggs. Wisk until blended. Let sit
5. Just before pasta is done - I can't give you a time on this, since I don't know how done you like your pasta nor do I know how hot your stove gets, what kind of pot, etc. - crank the heat on the pancetta. Once its all sizzling, cut the heat again. Let sit in pan.
6. Once pasta is done, drain, but DO NOT RINSE, and put directly into the bowl with the egg/cheese mixture. Toss.
7. Drain about half the fat off the pancetta, then put on top of the pasta.
8. Shred/grate about another 1/4 cup of parm on top of pancetta.
9. Toss.
10. Serve, with wine of your choice.

I recommend spaghetti, but angel hair would prolly work really well, too. Haven't had time to try that yet.

Fairly similar to how I make carbonara. I like it with some sliced mushrooms and garlic fried up with the pancetta/bacon.

Nice. I'll have to try that but I just finally finished the leftovers of making this and frankly, no heavy pastas for a while. (Advice if you try this recipe, which is indeed delicious -- scale back on the fontina.)

http://www.io.com/~wallen/chili/t3-2-sm.gif

that's someone's belly!

SEXY!

or

HOT!

http://www.lulu.com/content/4956212

Someone asked for my ghormeh sabzi recipe in another thread. P sure they were kidding, but I'm gonna give it to you anyhow. Be careful what you ask for, I guess. Ghormeh sabzi means braised meat with vegetables in Persian. I don't eat meat, so this is really just vegetables. Also, ghormeh sabzi doesn't really have any vegetables, just leeks and herbs. It's all "vegetables" to us. Thing is, if you ask for "sabzi" most Persians will think it's sabzi khordan you're after, which is very lovely you must try it but more akin to a salad (i guess?) than a stew. This makes a ton of herb stew, you're gonna have leftovers. Here goes:

You'll need 3 leeks with a lot of green on them and not a lot of white. When I see leeks like that at the store and they don't cost a fortune, that's how I decide it's time to make ghormeh sabzi.

You'll also need 2 bunches of parsley. 1 bunch flat, 1 bunch curly is fine. 2 bunches flat also works. At least 1 of the bunches must be flat.

Additionally**: 1 bunch dill, 1 bunch cilantro/coriander leaf, and about 8oz* of fresh spinach (I normally use most, but not all of a 10oz bag).

There are a couple of ingredients you will need from a specialty Indian or Middle eastern grocer. Fortunately they are dry ingredients that you can store in a pantry and make lots of khoreshts:
-dried fenugreek aka shanbalileh aka methi leaves (you can use fresh if available but i really prefer dried for this recipe)
-limoo amani, these are dried lemons or limes

Grapeseed oil or another neutral oil that burns at a very high temperature.

Finally, you need about 1+1/3 cup of dried red kidney beans.

Optionally, you might also use a medium onion, turmeric and black pepper.

So what you wanna do is first soak your kidney beans overnight, or in very hot water for an hour or two if you lacked the foresight to soak them overnight.

Trim off the white part of the leeks and reserve them for another recipe. Then rinse and rough cut the green parts and put them in a big ol' food processor.

Now here's the tedious part: wash the fresh herbs and remove all the leaves, adding them to your food processor and discarding the stems. Also add in the spinach* and a small handful of shanbalileh (don't overdo it). Puree the lot. You might wanna do this in batches if you don't have an enormous food processor like mine.

Then you get a large pot, pref nonstick with a thick bottom, coat the bottom generously with grapeseed oil and sautee your optional onion on pretty high heat along with like half a teaspoon each of turmeric and black pepper. And once the onion is soft and translucent, add in the pureed herb and leek mixture.

You gotta sautee the shit outta the herbs without burning them. Add more oil as necessary, cause if you burn the herbs it'll ruin your ghormeh sabzi. In a huge pot like the one i use, it takes 10-15 mins on high heat, stirring pretty much constantly until they're the dark green, almost brown-ish color of dried herbs.

At this point you add water, i don't know maybe 4 or 5 cups? You want it to be like the consistency of mud after a heavy rain, but not soup. Also drain the beans and add those in, and 4-6 limoo amani. Pierce several holes in each with a fork. 4 should be plenty unless they're especially small. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.

You're gonna let that simmer for a good long time: 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally, and adding water as needed to maintain the muddy consistency as the beans soak up water. When it's almost done (beans are soft, etc) add salt to taste. I think I use roughly a tablespoon? No idea, I'm eyeballing everything LOL. Obviously err on the side of too little salt. It's a very flavorful stew, doesn't need much.

Some people like to add fresh lemon juice. I strongly advise against this, I think the limoo amani give plenty of sour/tangy taste and adding lemon juice on top of that just obliterates the subtle flavors of the herbs.

Traditionally this is made with cubes of lamb or beef. You would brown it in a separate pot with the onion, turmeric and pepper and add it to the stew at some point. I think with the beans and water etc. I have no idea really, I've been at least vegetarian most of my life.

That's it! Serve it over rice. I think it's pretty good over kasha/buckwheat, too.

This is my favorite stew and possibly my favorite meal overall, especially during the colder months.

*too much spinach will ruin it. There are 3 rules: Go easy on the spinach, don't burn the herbs, nix the lemon juice. No matter how much they cry, no matter how much they beg, don't feed em after midnite. You know, that sort of thing.

**if you're really in a bind, you can make it with just parsley, leek and fenugreek but i never do that.

that is a really righteous lookin recipe - bookmarked!

I was not kidding! I have been looking for something that didn't involve leafy stuff not readily available in the USofA!

(I was supposed to visit Iran last year but came down with COVID three days before planned departure. The Westwood Village neighborhood of LA must now suffice for my Persian hankerings, but I don't get to LA very often).

When i visited my brother in Orange County 4 or 5 years ago, we had some really good Persian food. It was much better than anything in the NYC area nowadays. In the 90's there was a great place just outside the city, but we don't have anything better than okay-ish now afaik. I visited LA during that trip but didn't make it to Tehrangeles.

FWIW nobody i know has gone back to Iran,or would, due to safety concerns or ethics or both, and i have relatives and family friends who were jailed on trumped up charges in the 80's.

Yeah my onc surgeon is Persian, moved to the US with her immediate family when she was 15. Early in 2022 she was excited that we would be visiting, but as the date approached (September) she was like "my friends there are saying don't come now." But we had to go through so much to get our visas that we were still determined. . . so coming down with COVID (after avoiding it for 3ish years!) was kind of. . . propitious?

Anyway both spouse and I are in love with fesenjoon. I have not attempted to make this--it may remain the rare Tehrangeles treat.

Deflatormouse i once read a sub for fenugreek leaves that called for a bit of ground fenugreeek and spinach leaves. is this even close to something you'd condone?

xxpost

this looks super interesting, thx for posting. thinking it'd be super with some pan-fried tofu thrown in at the end or something

quincie, very cool! you should totally try to make fesenjan, i've haven't figured out a way to make it veggie that works well but i've tried a couple of times.

i really wouldn't use fenugreek seeds. it already has some spinach, and too little spinach is better than too much. recently i made this without fenugreek leaves (preparation was well underway when i remembered i'd run out) and it came out ok. i would just omit the fenugreek if you can't find the leaf. you really do need the limoo amani though.

can't imagine adding tofu to this tbh- i would say try it once as is so you have an idea of how it tastes and what veggie protein would pair well. it's a strong and singular flavor.

i eat it over kasha sometimes which surely must be blasphemous, so

haha. have the limoo and methi ordered and am gonna try and make next weekend. will take your advice and keep alt. protein separate for first outing. have only cooked kasha a couple times (kasha varneshkes) but it's been decades and don't have any at hand so i won't be co-blaspheming i guess

have the limoo and methi ordered and am gonna try and make next weekend

oh sweet! writing this out was so worth it.

i won't be co-blaspheming i guess

that's probably for the best!

I probably would have suggested ash reshteh ("noodle soup") for a vegetarian/vegan recipe in persian cuisine. always a crowd pleaser, probably not as "interesting" but has lots of herbs.

o, i made that once about 5years ago. came out really well. thanks for reminding me that i have the recipe written down

making this Ghormeh Sabzi now, at the sauteeing herb/leek/onion/turmeric stage. the smell plus those outrageously scented limoos are already making me happy to be doing this. i'm scared of burning the herbs so am not really frying, but going on medium heat and cooking the heck out of it. . .

dang, this dish is delicious!! really lovely. i took pics, but when i send them to myself am getting these .heic files that are a freaking PITA and converting has been problematic. but thanks again for the recipe, D'mouse.

I'm conditioned to look for leeks that have a lot of white, and have been disappointed that my unmanned honor-pay farm stand always has leeks with very little white, and now I am happy happy and will be trying this soon!

so awesome that you actually made this and enjoyed it!

quincie i'm jealous of your source for leeks that have a lot of green.

I will be attempting ghormeh sabzi tomorrow! Ingredients sourced and ready to go.

Made it to the simmering stage! I was not super vigilant about getting every last stem out of the herb mix, and I had to strongarm my (not huge) food processor a bit, but the instructions were very very helpful (e.g. I would not have known to take the herb saute that far without specific guidance) and I can't wait for dinner!

Of course the Safdar package of limoos had a recipe that involved opening a CAN of Safdar "ghormeh sabzi herbs" and a can of kidney beans. Clearly easier but I'm sure in no way as delicious.

i'm honored that you actually made one of my recipes and i really hope it doesn't suck. i can confirm that the cans of dried herbs make lousy ghormeh sabzi. i've tried it exactly once, which tells you all you need to know.

i made it myself last week after scoring some leeks at whole foods that were all green with virtually no white on em.

It smells sooooooo good. Like, I know just by how it smells that it is going to be ace!

Now I am actually pondering one of those automatic persian tadig rice cookers oh noes

xp phew :)

i do tahdig all the time on the stovetop but have nothing against the rice cookers. if it'll make you more inclined to cook Persian rice it's worth it.

i can def offer suggestions if you want to try it on the stovetop.

Oh yes, I would definitely appreciate stovetop tips!

The verdict: delicious!!!

Next time I must must must do better with rice. Tonight I just tossed some jasmine in the rice cooker and it just was not up to par with the ghormeh sabzi. The stew really deserved proper fluffy persian rice. Tahdig would have put it over the top.

confession: i was not religious about destemming the cilantro and dill, and i just finely chopped as cleaning my food processor is a chore and wasn't in the mood to add that to the other tasks when i made it. will def be making again. also, am curious abt Persian Rice! i just had it with Japanese short grain and thought it was perfect for my taste

Tomorrow I'm going to try a fake tahdig with the leftover jasmine rice--I'm drying it out in the fridge and will attempt to crisp it in oil+butter in a nonstick pan. Will serve it with eagerly anticipated leftover g.s. along with some lamb chops!

BTW I think the caution against lemon juice was an excellent tip. I saw some youtubers vouch for lemon and am glad I tried it without, as I agree that it wasn't needed and could have overridden the distinctive methi+limoo flavor.

I was heavy on the kidney beans, I'll scale back last time as I liked them on the sparse side as served in my few restaurant experiences (though those had lamb, so it made sense to bump up the beans as a main course veg dish for us).

you know, i almost wrote "serve over Basmati rice". i've never tried it with any other rice, and it's def. blasphemous. no judgement from me of course, as i already said i sometimes eat it over buckwheat groats. i'm obviously too narrow minded if you both enjoyed it.

traditionally, it's saffron rice with tahdig. you know, saffron is really expensive and ghormeh sabzi is so overpowering, i usually don't wanna bother. but the tahdig adds a nice texture, and you do need a little saffron water to nail it.

i tried it once without stemming the herbs properly, because it's a huge pain in the neck as i'm sure you've found. and it wasn't too bad but it wasn't as good.

the thing about the lemon juice, you don't lose the methi or the limoo amani, what you lose is the softer, more subtle flavors of the dill and spinach.

i just finely chopped as cleaning my food processor is a chore

that's legit

i have to reiterate that it's really rewarding to me that both of you made this and enjoyed it.

i could write a post about tahdig rice this afternoon. to start with: unfortunately, it's gotta be basmati rice, or it won't have the right aroma.

had an excellent vegan borcht at the Ukranian National Home in the East Village the other day, would love to have the recipe for that. $3 and it was like, the best thing i've eaten out in months.

xps i've been thinking it would be good over brown rice- there's obviously no need to be religious about it

Borcht is super easy to make and there are a million recipes. It's one of those anti-recipe dishes.

For ingredients, beets obviously - you can roast them ahead of time for intensity, peel them and cook them wholly in the soup which is going to be fresher (and take a little longer), or a little of both for the best of both worlds. Onions, leeks, a little garlic, potato sometimes, carrot. Shredded cabbage is very common - I like red to enhance the beet flavor but any cabbage will do.

I use homemade beef or chicken broth - it gets a really nice mouthfeel and tastes very nourishing. I have also used bean stock (broth drained after cooking dried beans) and that works very well (better than vegetable stock!) also. I imagine you could use water in a pinch with some olive oil for texture/added flavor.

An emersion blender is what you want to make the job super easy. You just cook everything until tender and then blend it to a nice smooth consistency. A blender or food processor also works. Some recipes don't even make it a puree, but then you probably don't want to overcook it whereas if you are blending it that matters less.

I like yogurt or sour cream with chopped dill at the end. For really nice alternative, tahine sauce (tahini, lemon, garlic, but no chickpeas) plays really well with the earthy beet flavors.

enhance the beet flavorcolor

Thread delivers, that post is densely packed with pro tips. Thx, PBKR.

Best borscht i ever had was a cold borscht at a Polish restaurant in Jersey City in the 90's, down the street from an artist's loft where my friend's dad was living temporarily. i don't know how to find it, and it's probably long gone anyhow, but that one had yogurt and dill mixed in.

i'm mostly vegan now (i eat dairy a few times a year), but i always have tahini on hand and i'm constantly dumping bean broth down the drain as a byproduct of other dishes.

the one i had the other day wasn't pureed, the beets were still firm but the cabbage and potatoes were def overcooked. it didn't matter. it had a tanginess that neutralized some of the earthy beet flavor, and i'm wondering if they added acid to it or it's just the way the beets are cooked.

Good call, the Serious Eats recipe I use for reference sometimes calls for balancing the dish at the end with the addition of sugar and red wine vinegar.

just night shifted and got real sick overnight. i had to tough it out but i'll be calling in sick today and tomorrow. please forgive me if i'm slower to respond. i was gonna try making borscht this weekend but now idk.

quincie, you're right. the amount of beans in my recipe was way too much. i normally just eyeball everything, so when i made it last week i measured everything out. figured i'd come back and make corrections, but i totally forgot. the 4-5 cups of water was exactly right (i don't believe it tbh). but the amount of beans i use is just a little more than a cup (dry). about a cup and a quarter. also, i use way less than a tablespoon of salt. closer to half a teaspoon! i added four "punches" of salt, if you know what a punch of salt is. tbf there's a chance it's something my uncle made up.

also quincie, you could totally try it with lamb or beef cubes, i'm pretty sure you just sautee the onion in a separate shallow pan with a pinch of turmeric and back pepper , then brown the meat and add it to the stew to braise together with the beans and limoo. as i recall from my childhood the meat adds a whole other dimension.

outdoor miner, you may be interested to know that i've used leftover ghormeh sabzi as a veggie-hot dog topping and it totally works. i figured if kimchee and chili are valid veggie dog toppings, why not?

about tahdig rice, there are a couple of special kitchen items that i don't use for anything else. one is a towel which i wrap around the lid of the pot. it creates a tighter seal and absorbs some of the moisture from the rice when you steam it, so you end up with a fluffier, lighter, less dense & sticky rice.

the other is a wooden stick that belonged to my grandmother. i think it's some kind of rolling pin, but i'm not real sure. it's very thin for a rolling pin and has a strange contour. i'm gonna say you could use a narrow rolling pin. i use it first to pulverize a pinch of saffron in a measuring cup, kinda like a mortar/pestle action, to which i then add 1/4-1/3 cup of boiling water. and set that aside.

later on, i use the rolling pin-esque thing to poke holes in my mound of rice, which allows steam to rise. i'll have to take a picture of this next time i do it, or perhaps there are youtubers who do something similar and have a visual aid.

you really need to use grapeseed oil for this. it takes 15-20 mins for the tahdig to form on high heat. the heat has to be pretty high (not maxed out, but slightly higher than medium-high, i'd say). if you use another oil, the tahdig will char and burn from the sustained high heat. if you cook it on lower-medium heat, the rice won't crisp and you'll end up with a soft, greasy layer of rice on the bottom.

i'll measure out 2 cups of basmati rice, or 3 depending on the preparation. for baghali polow, which is tahdig rice with dill & fava beans, i use 3. likewise for shirin polow, "bejewelled rice" which is tahdig rice with candied orange peel, carrots and nuts. but for ordinary tahdig rice with saffron and most other preparations, it's 2 cups.

to remove excess starch from the rice, you must rinse it. this is really important, and pretty standard for cooking basmati rice. basically you swirl it around in a pot of water with your hand, then dump out the water when it gets cloudy and add new water. repeat a few-several times. you'll know when it's done because the texture of the rice feels different to the touch.

typically after that, you'll soak it for 30 mins in a large pot or bowl of warm water. this is not as crucial and can be skipped if you're in a hurry.

once the rice is ready to cook, add it to a large pot and fill it with water. think about cooking pasta, it's just like that. when the rice is almost-but-not-quite cooked ("al dente" kinda, but really more like slightly undercooked), strain out the water. sometimes i'll give it a quick rinse with cool water to stop it cooking more.

i find that with the very tall pot i use for this, if it's almost full with water, if i strain it out just before it reaches a rolling boil it's the perfect consistency.

at this point you take your nonstick crockpot or stock pot and coat the bottom very generously with grapeseed oil. use plenty. add half of the reserved saffron water to that and shake the pot back and forth vigorously (think of a gold panning motion) to distribute the saffron water.

with the remaining saffron water in the measuring cup, slowly stir in a portion of the undercooked rice (as much as you can coat with the saffron water). set this aside.

at this stage, salt the rice to taste (1 teaspoon salt per cup of dry rice is my 'rule'... so if you started with 2 cups, add 2 teaspoons). if you are adding other flavors to the rice, such as minced dill and fava beans for baghali polow, this is when to mix it into the rice. note that this is not the same as "toppings", which should be added at the end.

take a third of your rice (about 2 cups cooked) and add it to the stock pot with grapeseed oil. pack it down pretty firmly with a large spoon, so that it makes a dense & uniform bottom layer of rice that's completely saturated in oil. this will be your tahdig.

with the remaining rice, build it into a pyramid shape, layer by layer, adding one spoonful at a time. whereas the tahdig layer is densely packed, this should be very loose. i usually shake the spoon a little to make it looser. with each layer you build, the circumference should be slightly smaller. so we're building a very loose, vaguely pyramid shaped mound of rice. when you run out of rice, dump the cup of rice soaked in saffron water over the top and 'crush' it into the mound with a spoon, or spoon it out over the top as another layer.

now you take your rolling pin thingy. insert it into the center of the mound to create a hollow. you wanna push it all the down to the bottom of the loosely packed rice pyramid without piercing the tahdig. the different densities make this very easy. as long as you're gentle the resistance will stop it when you get to the bottom tahdig layer.

then make 4 more holes like this, for each compass point. think of a pentagram, or like the connect the dots version.

finally, drizzle some grapeseed oil over the top of the rice mound.

while it's not nearly as involved as making ghormeh sabzi, i feel visual aids would be more helpful here. i'll try to take pics next time.

try to secure your towel around the lid of the pot. to keep it from catching fire!!!

now the rice is ready to be steamed. cover the pot and cook it over high heat for about 15 minutes. it can take up to 20 minutes sometimes. DON'T WALK AWAY!! keep an eye on it to make sure the towel doesn't catch fire (this has happened to me maybe twice? it just got a little singed. no erupting into flames or anything. but we gotta be cautious). **if you smell the rice burning, remove it from the heat immediately** we wanna crisp the rice, not char it.

this sounds more involved than it probably is! it takes like 40 mins?

one important thing to note... when you crush the saffron in the measuring cup, make sure the inside of the cup is *completely dry* before adding saffron to it

Rinsing rice has been a game changer for me.

and i'm wondering if they added acid to it or it's just the way the beets are cooked

recipe i use calls for a splash of apple cider vin to finish iirc. have never pureeed the few times i've made it, it's kinda stew-ish but so freaking delish.

xxpos

also, thx for saffron rice reminder. made it a couple times towards the beginning of the pandemic and it fell out of rotation. . .

sorry for multiple posts, am at work and slowly going through thread:
hot dog topping sounds tip top tbh. and as far as the bean quantity goes i actually halved the provided gs recipe except for the beans, thinkingt i'd hold back half of those but ended up putting them all in the final dish and i LOVED the bean quantity. sry for bean a weirdo

I ordered new pot (didn't have anything suitable for persian rice) and some saffron so I can get down with proper persian rice soon. In the meantime, my fake tadhig actually worked out well and the g.s. was even better with two days rest!

DM I see you are not in the "add yogurt" camp for persian rice--I see some folks do a portion of rice mixed with yogurt for the bottom/crispy part that goes into the pan first.

omg that post was SOOOO LONG!! sorry everyone

DM I see you are not in the "add yogurt" camp for persian rice--I see some folks do a portion of rice mixed with yogurt for the bottom/crispy part that goes into the pan first.

wow, i've never heard of anyone doing that! for some rice preparations we put a layer of thinly sliced potatoes on the bottom of the pan.

i have a great aunt whose social life revolves around cooking Persian food, i'll ask if she knows anyone who makes it this way.

i actually halved the provided gs recipe except for the beans, thinkingt i'd hold back half of those but ended up putting them all in the final dish and i LOVED the bean quantity. sry for bean a weirdo

<3

oh hai I am making ghormeh sabzi rn

gonna do proper Persian rice this time

you rule ♥️♥️♥️♥️

forgot to update that i made borscht a couple of weeks ago using the tips PBKR provided (didn't follow a recipe, used bean broth, tahini sauce , combination of roasted & boiled beets) and it was *delicious* ... but i got violently ill later that night (not because of the borscht) and threw out the leftovers, couldn't stomach the sight if it.

Glad the borscht tasted good and hope you will be able to revisit it again in time.

Labor Day ghormeh sabzi!

Gonna let it sit overnight, then do proper Persian rice to go with it tomorrow. I need to be more brave in my tahdig game; my first attempt (following deflator's instructions to the T) came out really well for a noob effort, but could have been browner on the bottom. I was really scared of scorching, this time I will take a deep breath and keep going on the higher heat.

oh wow, i haven't made any khoreshts in months, it's summer tbf but i'm overdue

i was also scared to push the heat enough as a noob :)

was just thinking about the gormeh two days ago when it was cool and rainy but had other plans at the time. def need to remember to make this again someday soon-ish

my current most valuable ingredient is coconut milk. It's transforming qualities on bodged curries, especially when I've not got the spice blend quite right is magical.

my local chinese-american spot took a nosedive, so i've started making one of my favorite dishes of theirs at home. normally i think this would be served with shrimp and char sui, but i've been using ground pork as it's easier and more economical.

singapore noodles

rice stick / vermicelli - about half a pack
meat (ground pork or ground chicken) 0.5 to 1 pound
1 med. onion
1 med. carrot
veggies
bean sprouts
green onion, sliced thin
2-3 eggs
3 tbsp mae ploy yellow curry paste
2 tbsp water
pinch sugar
soy sauce to taste

brown meat, set aside
sautee onion, carrot, other veg
remove veg or push aside, fry eggs
boil noodles in water for roughly one minute
mix curry paste with sugar and warm water, add to pan along with meat and noodles
use a spatula or metal utensil to break up noodles into 1-2 inch length
season with soy sauce to taste
fold in sprouts and green onion

You're making me hungry.

Turned the family and friends on to a meatless sabzi the other night. it stands on its own and doesn't really require a protein, i feel like. also, it's really SO simple once all the herbs are prepped (i still hand chop and forgo the food processor). side of saffron rice was also nice

awesome. i've made it a bunch of times lately, got some limoo omani from the persian grocer in my neighborhood which are much more fragrant than the ones i'd been using but the dish tastes the same.

i love this recipe from Yeung Man, making his amazing chili oil took longer than expected but once you have that prepared, the noodle dish takes 5 mins. super fast and easy, perfectly balanced flavors between the smoky chili oil and the paprika and maple syrup. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uOLXNgZYqg

my current most valuable ingredient is coconut milk. It's transforming qualities on bodged curries, especially when I've not got the spice blend quite right is magical.

yep, 100% ^

I've done a couple of Yeung Man Cooking recipes, the one I keep going back to is his very simple one-pot rice and lentils one. love his minimalist AMSR style. But still haven't attempted his legendary chilli oil yet.

Those peanut butter noodles look great.

they are!

xp oh, nice. i've only done the chili oil and the peanut noodles, but i'm very impressed with him so far. i was reluctant to sacrifice an entire bottle of grapeseed oil but his chili oil was worth it and seems like it will taste amazing on basically everything.

the peanut noodles one is the kind of recipe where all the flavors are perfectly balanced and you don't need to tweak anything.

budo's optional vegan fake samlor machu (cambodian sour soup)

1 red onion
1 large carrot, thin coins
2 potatoes, medium cubes
2 tomatoes
about 1 cup large chunks pineapple (fresh is best)
1-2 quarts chicken stock (or veggie stock)
olive oil
1-2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp huy fong chili garlic sauce OR preferred hot sauce
fish sauce (or preferred salt source for vegan)
white vin and/or lime juice (tamarind if you have it)

garnish:
3 green onions, thin rings
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped cilantro
~finely chopped red onion set aside from your red onion

saute onion, potato, and carrot in olive oil until you get some color/softness. you can use a bit of sesame oil here too if you have it. then add a dash of fish sauce, dash of white vin, your pineapple, ONE of your tomatoes, chili sauce, tbsp brown sugar, and stock. stir then simmer until potatoes and carrots are soft. one or two minutes before turning off eat, add your second tomato. with heat off, add the green onion, garlic, cilantro, and red onion. taste the broth and add fish sauce, white vin and/or lime juice, more chili or hot sauce, more brown sugar, all to taste. serve over rice or over noodles at your preference. finally, you can top with toasted sesame seeds and/or crushed peanuts if desired

Makin' some ghormeh sabzi again. This time I threw in a little bit of mint because I had some on hand.

niiice, i just restocked limoo amani a few days ago (the persian grocer in my nabe had sold out for a minute)
no ghormeh sabzi yet but i for some reason made gheyneh bademjan during the heatwave

i actually made “tahdig only rice" without the mound of polow on top
it’s like the cap’n crunch with just the berries, but rice
it was super easy and i can’t believe i never thought of it before.

and i thought of the insanely long post i wrote itt about rice on my way home from a chest ct scan (my longest ever on ilx by a mile, which is saying a lot)
and i felt really bad
it’s so easy

1. rinse the rice
2. soak the rice
3. boil the rice until it’s just undercooked
4. drain the rice
5. salt the rice with salt
6. coat the nonsitck pot with grapeseed oil on the bottom
7. gently press a the rice into a flat layer over the oil
8. cover the pot on and heat on high for 10-15 mins

ta-da! tah-dig! (sorry)

No no no! All the detail was really key! Plus fun to read.

I feel compelled to confess that I am taking some liberties with this batch of g.s. because, well, needs must.

In addition to adding some mint leaves, I swapped the spinach with (gulp) a not-modest amount of arugula (sorrrrrrrry!!! I had one, but not the other, on hand!).

Also leaving out the beans because I don't have those on hand, either. Although I might get a (blasphemy) can tomorrow to add to leftovers.

Actually, now that I think about it, I have some roasted noodles leftover from making ash retash. And some--wait for it--kashk. Would it be madness to add these to g.s.? Or should I save them for something else? I mean how often do I get to use kashk--I've had a jar in my fridge for quite some time, it seems fine (could not find the hard ball version, which I should have picked up when on the trip to Oman that had to substitute for my nixed trip to Iran).

omg arugala in place of spinach is genius!!! i am so psyched to try that next time i make it, should give it a nice lil bite.
canned beans will be fine! not as nice obv.
when i was a small kid you know where we used to get GS in a can- i liked it then! i see it here once in a blue moon but always $$$ and i can’t be bothered.
no beans should be fine too assuming you are making it with braised meat?

i’ve always kinda wanted to try it with noodles or pasta, and i always chicken out. maybe i tried it with leftover aldente rigatoni or something once, lol.
with the mint, it's a little more like an ash sabzi hybrid, so… why not??

kashk - no idea, never tried, sounds a little odd and personally i wouldn’t, but then i am weirded out by most dairy

did you ever post about the trip to Oman?

i definitely want to experiment more than i have with nontraditional variations of this dish.

You know what should exist for those of us who can't, like, drop by our favorite herb mix stand in Tehran for ready-to-go g.s. mix? FROZEN g.s. mix! Surely that would be MUCH better than canned, right? OK not as good as fresh, but sometime you just wanna get your g.s. going without the whole wash-destem rigamarole y'know.

I have not posted about my trip to Jordan/Oman.

God only know if/when I will get another chance at the Iran trip :(

It is too bad, because I was really trying for the Axis of Evil tour, and had already knocked off North Korea.

that is some amazing life experience, when did you go to NK?? I'm also hoping to be able to visit Iran eventually.

I do have family-friends and relatives who freeze the sautéed herbs for later use, and it works great! but just as much work. i have not seen it in stores but it probably exists.
not a fan of the dehydrated sabzi mixtures but assume they are what goes into the canned stuff.

axes of evil sounds like a shrapnel records package tour

oh yeah my aunt wrote a Persian cookbook
she texted me a picture if the cover though. everyone she knows is telling me it's available everywhere but I can't find it anywhere. if I do I'll link to it here.