A Feast Of Persian Food

 One of the most luxurious of all Middle Eastern cuisines is Persian. Iran has been known as a gourmet's paradise for millennia. It has rich meat dishes and lush rice and veggie ones. The desserts are lush in flavor studded with fruit and dripping with honey. It has always been the way to eat.

Persian cuisine has been established for 2500 (!!!) years. The indigenous from the Sassanid and Achaemenid Dynasties  cooked stews that had pomegranates ,mint and cinnamon in them for color and flavor. The Islamic Conquest in the Seventh Century brought in more Arabic foods but eliminated pork, Mongols and Turks brought in noodles and rice while the two hundred year Safavid Era brought in saffron and nuts to be cooked with rice.  Modern day Americans gave the Iranians tomatoes. One of the most famous dishes that is a must make or must order in any Persian restaurant is tahdig. This is a giant rice cake with the highlight being the crispy , crunchy top. The rice is cooked in a special pan and the dish is flipped upside while serving. The word itself means bottom of the pot. It's basmati rice cooked with fragrant saffron and layered with butter and yogurt. It's a good side dish, being served with kebobs, roast chickens or stews. It could be eaten on its; own too,

Kebobs are big in Persian cuisine. They could be lamb , beef ro chicken, with lamb being the most popular. Chicken figures big in the cuisine and there is zereshk polo ba morgh, chicken with rice and barberries a cranberry like berry. The barberries are cooked with saffron ,sugar and oil and served on top of the meat. There is also morghe  zafarani, saffron chicken ,chicken with a rich saffron sauce. Beef turns up in both kebobs and stews. There is ghormeh subzi an herb stew that also has fresh herbs and dried lime in it.Parsley, fenugreek , scallions and cilantro are Fred, similar to opinions and then stew meat, kidney beans are added. The side is rice to absorb the gravy . Althought they also have stuffed grape leaves the Iranians are also known for their version of stuffed peppers. This is ground meat or plant based meat mixed with tomatoes , cilantro and parsley  along with cumin for flavor. Eggplant is a beloved veggie too. Khorem badenjam combines the silky veggie with beef in a tangy tomato sauce. These meals end in delicious desserts from a syrupy baklava to an ice cream redolent with rosewater and saffron. Hot teas are served with this t finish the meal.

Persian cuisine is a rich history based cuisine. It is colorful and flavorful. It represents this people perfectly.

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.

Tasty TV Tidbits

The fall season has most people glued to their TVs and devices, watching and binge watching new or favorite shows.This also applies to food shows both on the PBS and the Cooking Channel. Two stand out , Pati's Mexican Table from Public Television and  Food : Fact Or Fiction.

The first show has been on for five years. It's even received   accolades  worthy of the more well known  Cook's Country or Jacques Pepin's Heart and Soul and has received Emmy and James Beard nominations. The host is the lively and ever enthusiastic Pati Jinich. She actually started out as a political analyst with a Masters in Latin American studies.The show started in 2011, with Ms. Jinich showing how to make different recipes but also trying and tasting them with her friends and sons.Her career, though began in 2007 when she left policy making for her passion  cooking her native food. She launched Pati's Mexican Table, an ongoing series of culinary programs comprised of interesting talks and lectures, cooking demonstrations and tasting tables.What is great about her program is that it's not just a general blanket of Mexican cooking. She shows the various regions and the ingredients local to the area.It's not only tacos and guacamole..It's so much more. Ms. Jinich has done shows revolving around paletas, Mexican ice pops.Mexican brunches, and street food.She combines foods that normally wouldn't go together such as guacamole and steak, along with providing drink recipes too,It's a lively show and informative, especially for those home chefs who want to break out of the typical taco and tortilla box.

The second show is a fun history and food show, Fact Or Fiction.  T Michael McKean is the host., He first started out as Lenny on the Seventies TV show "Laverne & Shirley".along with being a fixture in many Christopher Guest movies.  You would think he wouldn't be a good match but he is. His laid back style , sometimes serious , is perfect for this witty , well crafted and fast paced show. Questions are posed and then there's facts backing them up or if they're fiction. One poser was did the Italians invent pizza?What followed was an interesting collage of history , fact and a pizza expert showing how the ancient Persians made something similar with flatbread and their shields.Another fascinating segment was questioning where hamburgers came from. It was a surprise to know that Genghis and Kubla Khan had a hand in its' invention. How? The Tartars brought it to the Russians where it was transformed into the raw meat dish, steak Tartare. From there it went to Hamburg, Germany via Russian sailors and the rest is history. Again it's a fun and informative  piece that Mr. McKean tells with the enthusiasm of a cool and relaxed history prof, inviting you to share a burger with him at his place.

There are some good television shows on right now., especially those centered around cooking and food. Take a look at both Pati's Mexican Table and Food Fact Or Fiction. They'll het the appetite for good food and where it came from.