I can’t even tell you how obsessed I am with Ghormeh Sabzi right now. It is the coziest bowl of greens in a turmeric and dried lime stew with tender chunks of beef and beans. It’s slightly tart from the dried persian limes and lemon juice. The dried limes give the stew the most incredible depth of flavor. The greens are a combination of parsley, garlic chives, fenugreek leaves, cilantro, and baby spinach. And it’s absolutely incredible on a bed of fluffy saffron rice. Though ghormeh sabzi is often made with chunks of lamb, I’m using beef today as it’s much easier to find and tastes good as well. Personally, I can’t eat ghormeh sabzi or khoresh gheymeh without a bowl of Shirazi salad on the side! I will say, this is one of those weekend recipes that simmer for a few hours and do require a bit of prepwork. But don’t worry, I’ve got tips on how you can prep some of this ahead of time!
What is ghormeh sabzi?
Ghormeh sabzi is a warm herb stew made with meat and beans. It’s made with a combination of greens, the most common of them being parsley, cilantro, and garlic chives. It is the national dish of Iran. And I consider it the king of Persian stews.
Ingredients for ghormeh sabzi
Yellow onions: You’ll want to use chopped yellow onions for this recipe. We’ll cook them in the oil until they’re golden brown before searing off the stew meat.Olive Oil: You can use ghee, vegetable oil or any other kind of oil you like to use at home for cooking.Garlic: You can use as little or as much garlic as you’d like. I usually use around 5 cloves.Spices: you’ll of course need salt, turmeric, and black pepper. Though it’s not a spice, you’ll also need a bouillon cube. The bouillon is optional, but it does amp up the flavor of the stock that the meat simmers in. I usually use chicken bouillon, though beef also makes sense.Beef: For the meat you want something that can stand up to the long-simmering time this stew requires. I use what my butcher marks as ‘stew meat.’ This is something like a chuck roast or round eye and contains a lot of connective tissue that will break down as the stew gently simmers. Tender chunks of lamb also work. I usually like to have chunks that are about 1½-inch cubes.Dried Limes: Also called lemoo amani. These are dried persian limes that give the stew the most delicious depth of flavor. This is one of those ingredients that you’ll find at a middle eastern grocery store for or you can order them online here!Herbs, Herbs, Herbs: This stew is a nutrition powerhouse with all the greens! You’ll need a ton of herbs here. You’ll need bunches of parsley and a small bunch cilantro, and then I’ll also use green onions, and dried fenugreek. Fresh fenugreek will also work for this recipe, however, it’s sometimes a pain to clean, and the dried herbs work just as well. The chopping of the herbs takes the longest hands-on time in this recipe. If I know I’m planning on making this, I usually try to wash and dry the herbs a day ahead of time. I’ll even chop the herbs and spinach and box them up for the next day as that cuts down the prep time significantly!Baby Spinach: I like to use baby spinach instead of regular spinach. Baby spinach comes cleaned and just requires some chopping. Regular spinach would need to be soaked to get all the dirt and grit out before you dry and chop it.Red Kidney Beans: Parts of Iran use kidney beans in their ghormeh sabzi. North and northwest Iran uses black-eyed peas. I’ve even seen people use pinto beans. All this to say that you have a few options here.Lemon Juice: Use lemon or fresh lime juice towards the end to cut through the richness of the stew.
How to make ghormeh sabzi
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
Easy Persian Chicken KebabsPersian Cranberry RiceBeef Shawarma BowlsLebanese Meat Pies (Sfeehas)Beef Kafta Kebabs
Stew meat: you can use chuck or round, cut into pieces. Anything that has tough connective tissue that requires a longer cooking time will work well here.
