Ghormeh Sabzi (Persian Herb Stew)

Ingredients

• **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 themonline 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.