Persian flavors

By FAYE LEVY, YAKIR LEVY
Updated: DECEMBER 13, 2016 00:42
Emmer wheat and mushroom pilaf (photo credit: GENTL & HYERS)
Emmer wheat and mushroom pilaf
(photo credit: GENTL & HYERS)
 On the wall of her office, cookbook author Naomi Duguid has a map of the Persian Empire under Darius the Great, who died in 486 BCE. It was the largest empire the world had ever known.
In her new book, Taste of Persia: A Cook’s Travels Through Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran and Kurdistan, Duguid explores the cooking traditions of that part of the world.
She characterizes the region’s cooking as “cuisines without borders.” “The people here... share a history,” she wrote, “and they are all marked by Persian influences that date back to the time of... Darius.... The connections between them are found not in their different places of worship, nor in their many distinctive languages..., but in the kitchen, in the garden and at the table.”
A culture of hospitality is common to all the peoples of the region, wrote Duguid. Richly flavored bean dishes, a variety of flatbreads, liberal use of herbs and greens, plenty of cheese and yogurt, and savory dishes flavored with tart fruit are typical.
The cooking of Iran, or Persia, is famous for its rice dishes, its kebabs, its artful use of pomegranate molasses as a flavoring, wrote Duguid, and for its “subtle and seductive soups.”
Indeed, Duguid calls the region “soup paradise.”
“The line between soups and stews is hard to draw in the Persian culinary world,” she wrote, “where soups are often served as a main course, accompanied by cheese, bread and generous plates of fresh herbs.”
Some hearty soups combine several kinds of beans or lentils and are flavored generously with chopped greens. “The most elaborate versions of this kind of soup are the thick green Persian ash dishes,” such as pomegranate ash with lamb meatballs (see recipe).
Armenia’s cuisine is remarkably creative, wrote Duguid, and is “anchored by the need for frugality and self-sufficiency.... Because of the fasting traditions of the Armenian Church, there’s a large repertoire of delectable meatless dishes,” such as emmer wheat and mushroom pilaf (see recipe). Unlike the rest of the Persian region, where rice is a staple, in eastern Armenia the main grain is wheat.
Wine-making may have originated in what is now Georgia or Armenia about 8,000 years ago, wrote Duguid.
“Shepherds’ cheeses” are important in Georgian cuisine and are used in the cheese-filled bread called khachapuri. Georgians are fond of raw garlic and of a spice blend called kmeli suneli, which includes ground coriander, blue fenugreek and red chili powder. Tart fruits and walnuts are popular in Georgia, and are used in dishes such as spicy fish salad, which has a walnut garlic sauce and is garnished with pomegranate seeds (see recipe).
Because the cultures and the peoples of this area have been mixed over the centuries, Duguid concludes that no people or country in the region can credibly claim to have originated a dish or a technique.
“People in the region have a fierce sense of national pride,” she wrote. “In the food sphere, this often translates into ‘gastro-nationalism’ – assertions that ‘we’ invented the dish that you claim is yours. But the fact that I came upon a particular dish in Armenia or Iran, Georgia or Azerbaijan does not mean that the dish belongs to the people of that nation, or that its roots lie solely there.
“Everything I learned while working on this book,” wrote Duguid, “confirmed the deep interconnectedness of areas within the Persian culinary region.”
Faye Levy is the author of Feast from the Mideast.
Pomegranate ash with meatballs
 “Ash is at the heart of Persian home cooking,” wrote Naomi Duguid, “a category of slow-cooked sustaining soups that are welcoming, subtle and rewarding for cooks and eaters alike. “This ash is an inviting blend of legumes and rice, flavored with little lamb meatballs.” You can make the soup a day ahead and reheat it. Make sure to serve it hot.
Serves 6
■ ¼ cup sunflower oil or extra-virgin olive oil
■ 1 onion, sliced
■ ½ tsp. ground cassia (cinnamon)
■ ½ tsp. turmeric
■ ¾ cup short-grain rice, washed and drained
■ ¾ cup dried split peas, soaked in water for 1 hour or up to 12 hours and drained
■ 8 to 10 cups water, or as needed
■ 110 gr. (¼ lb.) green onions, trimming and finely chopped
■ 2 bunches parsley, leaves and tender stems, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
■ 2 bunches coriander (cilantro), leaves and stems, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
■ 1 bunch mint, leaves finely chopped (about 1 cup)
■ 1½ Tbsp. sea salt, or to taste
■ 4 to 6 Tbsp. pomegranate molasses, to taste
Meatballs:
■ 1 onion, grated
■ 225 gr. (½ lb.) ground lamb
■ 1 tsp. sea salt
■ ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Toppings:
■ About ¼ cup sunflower oil or extra-virgin olive oil
■ 2 Tbsp. dried mint
■ 1 cup thinly sliced onion
Soup:
Pour oil into a large heavy pot over medium-high heat, toss in onion, cassia and turmeric, and cook until onion is translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Add rice, drained split peas, and 8 cups water. Raise heat and bring to a boil. Lower heat to maintain a strong simmer and cook for 1 to 1½ hours, or until split peas are tender.
Meanwhile, make meatball mixture: Mix onion thoroughly with lamb. Mix in salt and pepper. Set aside, covered, in refrigerator.
Add green onions, parsley, coriander and mint to soup and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add 1 to 2 cups water to thin it, as you wish, and bring back to a strong simmer.
Add the salt and 4 tablespoons pomegranate molasses and stir. Taste and add a little more pomegranate molasses, if you like.
Make meatballs about 15 minutes before you want to serve. Scoop up about a heaped teaspoon of meat mixture for each and roll it into a ball between your wet palms, then drop it into the soup. Let soup continue to simmer while you make the toppings.
Toppings: Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Toss in dried mint and immediately remove from heat; it will fizz up a little.
Set aside in a small bowl.
Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in the skillet over high or medium-high heat, add sliced onion and fry until starting to brown and crisp, about 6 minutes. Set aside on a plate.
Ladle hot soup into individual bowls, serving several meatballs in each, and top with a drizzle of mint oil and with a sprinkling of fried onions, if you wish.
Emmer mushroom pilaf
This dish is a cross between pilaf and risotto. Duguid makes it with emmer, “an early variety of wheat that cooks up quickly; it has an inviting homey taste and is a staple in Armenia.” You can use regular wheat berries, and cook them longer, about 1 to 1½ hours; to shorten their cooking time, see Duguid’s suggestions in the note following the recipe.
You can make this pilaf with just mushrooms or include a little ground meat.
When using meat, Duguid reduces the butter amount to 1 tablespoon; for a kosher meal, replace the butter with 1 tablespoon margarine.
Serves 4 to 6
■ 2 Tbsp. sunflower or vegetable oil
■ 2 Tbsp. ghee or butter (or 1 Tbsp. margarine)
■ 2 medium onions, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
■ 225 gr. (½ lb.) ground beef or lamb (optional)
■ 225 gr. (½ lb.) mushrooms, chopped or sliced thin – brown, button or portobello (about 4 cups) (or 110 gr. or ¼ lb. mushrooms if using meat)
■ 2 tsp. dried thyme
■ 1 cup (scant 225 gr. or ½ lb.) emmer, farro or other wheat berries, washed well and drained (or soaked; see note)
■ 2½ cups water or light broth
■ 1½ tsp. sea salt, or to taste (less if using salted broth)
■ Generous grinding of black pepper
■ 2 to 3 Tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon or mint
Optional accompaniments:
■About 2 cups plain thick yogurt, lightly salted (if not using meat)
■Plate of fresh herbs such as basil, coriander, mint, fenugreek, parsley, dill and green onions Place a wide, heavy skillet or heavy pot over medium heat. Add oil and butter; when butter melts, swirl to coat pan. Toss in onions and cook until translucent.
Add meat, mushrooms and thyme, and cook, stirring occasionally, until meat has changed color and mushrooms are starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Add wheat berries and water or broth and bring to a boil. Add salt and return to a boil. Lower heat slightly to maintain a strong boil and cook for 5 minutes.
Cover pan, lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until emmer is very tender and cooked through; regular wheat berries (prepared following note below) may take longer. The finished dish should be slightly soupy, like a very thick risotto.
Taste and add salt if needed, and the pepper. Stir in tarragon. Serve hot or warm, with yogurt and an herb plate, if you like.
Note: If you can’t find emmer or farro, try to get soft wheat berries. If using regular wheat berries, soak them for an hour or so, then briefly pulse in a food processor to help crack them and thus speed cooking.
Spicy fish salad – fish kuchmachi
Kuchmachi is a Georgian salad with a savory, rich walnut sauce. The salad is usually made with chicken or meat, but Duguid makes it with fish. Any white-fleshed fish is fine. Duguid recommends black sea bass, striped bass or snapper in the US; in Israel you can use sea bass (levrak).
If you have the Georgian spice blend called khmeli suneli (which you might find in a shop with an international selection of spices), you can replace the coriander, fenugreek, marigold petals and powdered chili in this recipe with 1 tablespoon of this blend.
Serves 6
■ 2 or 3 bay leaves
■ 5 medium garlic cloves, or to taste
■ About 1.4 kg. (3 lb.) whole white-fleshed fish (1 large or 2 smaller fish), cleaned and scaled, or 900 gr. (2 lb.) fish fillets
■ 2 cups walnuts or walnut pieces
■ 2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
■ 1 tsp. ground coriander
■ 1 tsp. powdered dried fenugreek leaves plus ½ tsp. ground fenugreek
■ 1 tsp. powdered dried marigold petals (optional)
■ ½ tsp. powdered dried red chilies
■ ½ tsp. dried summer savory or thyme
■ 1 tsp. sea salt, or to taste
■ About 1 cup pomegranate seeds (optional)
■ 1 small red onion or 2 shallots, minced (about ½ cup)
■ ½ cup coarsely chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) or dill
Pour 1.25 cm. (½ inch) of water into a wide heavy skillet.
Add bay leaves and 3 garlic cloves and bring to just below a boil over medium heat. Slide in the fish, cover, reduce heat, and poach until fish is barely cooked through, 5 to 10 minutes, depending on thickness, turning it after 4 minutes. Remove fish from water and set aside on a plate to cool. Reserve cooking broth.
If using whole fish, pull flesh off bones and discard bones and skin. Separate flesh (from whole fish or fillets) into bite-size pieces, using your fingers or a knife. Set aside in a bowl.
Grind walnuts to a fine powder in food processor or in a large mortar. Mash remaining 2 garlic cloves to a paste. Place walnuts and garlic in a bowl, add vinegar and about ¼ cup of reserved cooking liquid, and whisk until smooth. Add coriander, fenugreek, marigold petals, chilies, summer savory, and salt and whisk again.
Sauce should be pourable; if necessary, add a little more fish broth.
Pour sauce over fish and toss gently to coat it with dressing. Add pomegranate seeds, reserving a few for garnish, and mix gently. Let salad stand for 10 minutes or up to an hour to give flavors time to blend.
Just before serving, add minced onion and fresh herbs and toss gently to mix well.
Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Transfer to a platter or wide shallow bowl and sprinkle with reserved pomegranate seeds.
Recipes excerpted from Taste of Persia by Naomi Duguid (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2016. Reprinted with permission. See: https://www.workman.com/ products/taste-of-persia


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