vegetarian ghormeh sabzi for times of plague

Vegetarian

Vegetarian Ghormeh Sabzi for times of plague

Drescription

My partner is Scottish-Iranian and was sad to miss out on Norooz fare this year. This is an adaptation of the famous herb stew, khoresh e ghormeh sabzi, for these lean times. We found that the addition of vegetable bouillon and beurre manié - mashed butter and flour in equal parts - was a perfect substitute for the flavour and richness normally imparted by chunks of lamb or beef in the khoresh - apart from the absence of chunks of meat themselves I really wouldn't have noticed that this was vegetarian. If you want to make it vegan then feel free to use any vegan butter substitute.

Ingredients

7 cup finely chopped fresh mixed greens and herbs (spinach, parsley, dill, cilantro, wild garlic, nettles - the world is your oyster!)
2 tablespoon dried fenugreek
3 tablespoon mixed dried herbs (our mix includes dill, chives, parsley, and cilantro. avoid thyme, oregano, and rosemary, which don't belong in this dish.)
4-8 persian dried limes, pierced with a knife (we used 8, but ours are small and a bit old, and we also like it quite sour!)
1 pound dried kidney beans (we used a mix of red and white)
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoon vegetable bouillon
4 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
3 tablespoon softened butter (salted or unsalted is fine - whatever you have to hand)
3 tablespoon all purpose flour
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Set instant pot to sauté. Add 2 tablespoons oil and sauté onion, seasoning with a pinch of salt, until cooked through but not yet browned.
Meanwhile, heat the rest of the oil in a large pan over medium high heat, then add the fresh and dried herbs and sauté, stirring constantly, until very fragrant, dark in colour, and the excess moisture has evaporated. The herbs should significantly decrease in volume. Judge this by the appearance and smell, but this normally takes 10-20 minutes.
Add the turmeric and generous amount of ground black pepper to the cooked onion and cook for one minute, then add dried limes and beans and stir to coat in the oil and turmeric. Continue to cook together for 2-3 minutes more.
Add the cooked herbs to the instant pot, as well as vegetable bouillon, then fill with water until the mixture is covered by 2 inches. Set to high pressure and cook on the pressure cooker setting for 90 minutes. (We found it was necessary to cook for this long to soften the beans, since the limes add so much acidity to the cooking liquid.)
This is the ideal time to start making your rice! We recommend saffron rice with a tahdig. (Samin Nosrat's recipe is pretty foolproof, or give her "Persian-ish rice" which is a Genius Recipe here a try)
When the instant pot finishes, either wait for the natural release or do a manual release to remove the lid. The stew will be quite thin and watery at this point. If it seems under-seasoned, feel free to add more salt or vegetable bouillon. If you've erred on the side of caution with the dried limes, and it is not acidic enough to your taste, add fresh lime juice to taste (or whatever acidic thing you have in your cupboard!)
Set instant pot to sauté, and bring it to a simmer. Mash the softened butter and flour together into a paste, then stir the paste into the simmering stew. It should thicken nicely within a minute or two!
Serve hot, accompanied by a generous amount of rice! Noosh-e jaan! (Bon appetit!)