Persian Best

Persian cooking is one of the oldest in the world, yet the flavors are vibrant and fresh.It's a cuisine of color and brightness, texture and flavor. It incorporates a multitude of herbs and even flowers to create different and unique tastes.

The ultimate Persian-American chef, Samin Nosrat gave the New York Times Food section a wide array of the different dishes she grew up on.Ms Nosrat who writes regularly for The Times and Sunday magazine also has a Netflix show "Salt Fat Acid Heat" where she deconstructs cooking. She and her brothers embraced all things American yet they came home to a strictly Persian home. There were Saturday lessons in Farsi,setar music and celebrating the Persian New Year Nowruz. The biggest influence were the recipes her mother brought with them. For the article which contains a cross section of the best of their recipes Ms. Nosrat relied on family recipes along consulting with Iranian cooks .(Iranian and Persian can be interchangeable although there are differences). Ms. Nosrat's family comes from the northern part where herbs are a mainstay. They're treated like a vegetable which explains the huge amounts in the recipes. One kuku sabzi -  a Persian herb frittata - has a pound of cilantro and Italian parsley . A yogurt dish has a wide variety of parsley , dill, tarragon and basil.

This is my favorite issue . I was excited to see the recipes and plan on making a few.The first on my list is the kuku sabzi.It's an interesting mix of herbs with eggs, butter and even baking soda.Some ingredients such as barberries ,I'll have to get through Amazon. There are also leeks and fenugreek added. The greens are cooked first , cooled and then added to egg mix. Another must cook is the polo ba tahdig ,a giant rice cake - which comes with some fun instructions. Ms. Nosrat writes on flipping it by first gathering up your courage and praising your ancestors.A dish for a cool Spring night is the khoresh-e ghormeh which is a Persian herb bean and lamb stew.Of course it has a pound of cilantro and Italian parsley but also has a pound and a half of lamb shoulder along with turmeric and kidney beans. It is a lengthy cook, taking three hours . Ms. Nosrat also gives us a chicken stew that's sweetened with both pomegranate juice and molasses.Ground walnuts are also added. As a side there is mast-o khiar a Persian cucumber and herb yogurt that  is a mix of herbs,raisins, and dried rose petals.

Persian cooking is must have experience for any home or professional chef. It is a whirl of colors and flavors, textures and tastes. Make some of these amazing recipes now.