The key ingredient is black Kale or Cavolo Nero. In their absence also the Curly kale is good. This is a long cooking process. The more Ribollita cooks the more delicious it becomes. So it is even better the next day 🙂

Ingredients | 5-6 servings

• 600g/21oz chopped Kale
• 700g/24oz Cooked Cannellini/Navy beans (or white beans)
• 200g/7oz Savoy Cabbage
• 1 cup Tomato passata
• 2 Onions
• 2 Carrots
• 3 Celery sticks
• 2 cloves of Garlic
• 300g/10.5oz Stale Tuscan bread (or any bread of your choice)
• Sage & Rosemary & Garlic for aromatic oil
• Extra virgin Olive Oil
• Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Preparation

– Cut the bread into small bits and put it aside.

– Prepare the Italian soffritto: sauté the chopped onion, celery & carrots.

– Add garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper and stir fry for 10 minutes.

– Add the chopped cabbage and kale, stir fry for another 10 minutes.

– Pour a cup of tomato passata and mix all ingredients together.

– Pour 1.5 liters of boiling water and put the lid on. Cook for ⏳ 1.5 hour.

Meanwhile, make the aromatic oil:

– In a small pot, put the aromatic herbs of your choice, mine was: sage & rosemary, thyme and garlics.

– Pour in extra virgin olive oil (1/2 a cup).

– On very low heat simmer for 5-10 minutes. The garlic shouldn’t burn it becomes slightly brown. Put it aside. While resting the oil absorbs more aroma.

Adding the beans

– Mix 1 cup of water with half of the cooked white beans, blend to have a dense cream. Add it to the Ribollita.

(Optional) some chefs blend the whole Ribollita. Without overdoing, leaving some chunks of veggies but overall having a slightly creamy texture.

– Turn off the heat.

– Add other half of white beans and the chunks of bread. Mix all ingredients together.

– Wait so the rebollita cools down (20 minutes).

– Turn on the heat.

– If the Ribollita is too dry add 1 cup of boiling water. Simmer for ⏳ 10 minutes. (this is the last time). We are re-boiling the soup.

– Turn off the heat and pour half of the aromatic oil (save the other half for serving) and let it sit for 30 mins.

– While Ribollita is resting, it will absorb the aroma of oil and its flavors mature becoming incredibly delicious. Ribollita is served warm not hot.

Serve with toasted bread, in Tuscany they rub garlic to it, and serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on top. ☺️

Notes

• During the long hours of cooking the kale’s flavor will prevail and creates an incredible umami in the soup
• Ribollita is more delicious the day after.
• Make sure you’ve got a big pot to have space for all ingredients, i miscalculated and had to change my pot to a bigger one while I was cooking this Ribollita 🙂 .

Buon appetito ☺️

The post Ribollita – soup of Tuscany with kale appeared first on Foodcraftz.

Iran is the land of Ash, according to Wikipedia, there are 50 varieties of Ash in Iran. Ash Reshteh is not an easy recipe, it’s so laborious. Every time I cook, it takes 3 hours. Because i make everything from scratch. If all the ingredients like Reshteh, Kashk (or yogurt’s cream) & legumes are ready, it takes much less but we can’t fast forward the cooking time of Ash because its flavors should be settled. (جا بیوفته)

Ingredients | 4-5 servings

• 130g/4.5oz mix of beans (pinto, white, red)
• 40g/2.1oz Chickpeas
• 80g/2.8oz Lentils
• 2 Onions
• 100g/3.5oz chopped Coriander
• 200g/7oz chopped Parsley
• 200g/7oz chopped Chives or Leek
• 250g/8oz chopped Spinach
• 1 teaspoon Turmeric
• 2 tsp Cumin
• 3tbsp dried Mint
• 3 clove of Garlic
• 4-5 tbsp Kashk
• 300g/10.5oz fresh or 150g/5.3oz dried Reshteh (noodles)
• Pinch of Saffron (optional: for decoration)
• 3tbs Clarified Butter or oil

Reshteh: if Homemade 250g/9oz, if Packed/industrial 100g/3.5oz

Preparation of ingredients

Legumes:

– Better to soak them overnight (except lentils). In the day after you can cook them in 1 hour. If not, in a pressure cooker they will take 45 minutes to cook (with loads of water).

Reshteh (noodles) you can either:

1- Iranian supermarkets sells Reshteh or you can use pasta (spaghetti shape)

2- Make it yourself: Mix 3 times flour more than water, (like: 70g/2.5oz water, 200g/7oz flour) knead till you have a very dry dough. Let it rest for 1-2 hours then extend the dough to have a sheet of 3 mm of thickness and cut it in strips of 10-12 cm.

➡️ for more details check out reshteh recipe: reshteh

Kashk (the white sauce) you can either:

– If you find buy it from Iranian supermarkets or online shops.

– Homemade Kashk: On low heat, mix 500g/17.6 sour sheep yogurt (preferable) with 1tbsp of salt. Stir gently till it reduces in less than half. I use a blender to make it creamy. (and add some water if it needs) ✅

➡️ The homemade Kashk will not taste the same as the one in Iran, because in that case the yogurt goes through aging process and acquires a pungent taste which is the main characteristic of Kashk. We can’t do that at home because it needs some special conditions that if not respected pathogenic bacteria may grow and are very dangerous.

Final pot

– Chop 1 onion in a big pot (will be the pot of Ash) stir fry, when they become slightly golden add turmeric, cumin, and 1 chopped clove of garlic.

– Stir fry for some seconds.

– Add herbs, spinach and lentils.

– Pour 1.5L of boiling water.

⏳ Put the lid on and simmer for 1 hour.

– Add the cooked beans. Add half of the dried mint & 3-4 tbsp of Kashk and mix well.

⏳ Add Reshteh and simmer the Ash. If Reshteh is fresh 5-7 minutes, if not it +12 minutes.

Since the reshteh absorbs so much water, watch the density of the ash, If it gets too dense add a bit of boiling water.

(optional) Mix 1tbp of flour in a 1/3 glass of cold water. Pour it in and simmer for ⏳ 5 minutes.

– Turn off the heat. Adjust the seasoning, avoid adding too much salt because, we’ll serve Ash with extra Kashk on top which is already salty.

– Let Ash Reshteh rests for 20 minutes. It is essential to serve Ash Reshteh warm not very hot.

Meanwhile prepare the 5 toppings:

– Fried onion: slice onion very tiny, fry till they become golden brown.

– Fried garlic: chop the garlic into slices, fry till they gain golden color and becomes like small chips.

– Mint oil: heat half cup of extra virgin olive oil on medium heat, when it becomes slightly hot, turn off the heat, crush the dried mint between your fingers and sprinkle in pan and it’s done!

– Saffron water: pour in 1/4 cup of boiling water in glass and add a pinch of ground saffron. Leave it for ⏳5 minutes to release all its color to water.

– Kashk: If it’s very dense, dilute it with a bit of water when it becomes creamy it’s ready.

Decorate the serving bowl with the toppings: kashk, fried garlic and onion, saffron and mint oil

Final word: pat your shoulders and call yourself: “Ashpaz“, the one who can cook Ash, which is the word used for “Cook/Chef” in Persian. (it is not a recipe that everyone can do ☺️)

Good luck with cooking your Ash Reshteh 😆

The post Ash Reshteh – Persian dense soup with legumes, herbs, and noodles appeared first on Foodcraftz.

Ingredients | 2-3 servings

For the sauce:

• 5tbsp Extra virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 tsp dried Mint
• 1 lime or lemon
• 1/2 tsp Salt

Preparation

– Dice the ingredients & place them in a bowl

– Mix the sauce ingredients apart and pour the sauce to the salad and mix well.

Wait ⏳ 5 minutes before serving. So the sauce makes the ingredients slightly softer and all the flavors combines perfectly.

the Shirazi salad is a perfect match with adas polo (rice & lentils)

Noosh-e-Jan ☺️

The post Shirazi Salad appeared first on Foodcraftz.

• Fenugreek leaves
• Dried lemons

They are available in Iranian specialized supermarkets or ethnic middle eastern markets.

In case you don’t find them:

• Replace the Fenugreek leaves with Fenugreek Seeds, they are very bitter use only 1tsp (ground).
• Replace the dried lemon, with Fresh Lemon by using its juice and zest. The traditional Ghormeh sabzi is greasy so the sourness of the lemon is important to balance the flavors.

This recipe is the most common Ghormeh Sabzi in Iran which is also known as Tehrani Ghorme Sabzi (Tehran’s version). There are 9 to 10 other variations that differ from province to province.

This dish is served with white rice and it’s always prepared alongside Ghormeh sabzi.

Ingredients | 4-5 servings

• 500g/17.6oz chopped Parsley
• 500g/17.6oz chopped Chives or leek
• 1 tsp Turmeric
• 1/2 tsp Cumin
• Clarified butter or oil
• 500g/17oz Lamb
• 1-2 tbsp Dried Fenugreek leaf or 1tsp fenugreek seeds
• 140g/5oz Red beans
• 2 Onions
• 4-5 Dried Lemons

Video recipe

Preparation of meat:

– In a big pot add: 1 whole onion, lamb, turmeric, red beans, and cumin.

– Pour 5 cups of water. Cook for 2 hours. If you have a pressure cooker it’ll take 45 minutes.

➡️ No need to chop the lamb. In the end, the meat becomes so tender that it falls apart with touch of a fork. This was my grandmother’s technique. In the final pot she divided meat before serving (if it needed).

– Remove the onion from the pot when the meat is cooked. Because it served to absorb the smell of meat.

– The beans will taste better when they cook in meat’s broth. The juice of meat is very important to be plenty because It will be the main liquid of Ghormeh sabzi. (we may add small amount of water if the stew looks dry)

Preparation of herbs:

– Stir fry all the herbs together: chopped parsley, chives (or leek) & fenugreek. Till they lose moisture and become darker (⏳30-40 mins)

➡️ An important characteristic of a traditional Ghormeh sabzi is to have a dark green oil on top. Pour loads of oil in this step. The herbs should shine!

Preparation of dried lemons:

( ➡️ Skip this step if you don’t have dried lemon. Add the fresh lemon juice and zest to the final pot instead.)

– Wash the dried lemons with water.

– Add a cup of water to a small pan, boil them for 20 mins. Their skin become slightly soft.

– Create (carefully) holes in the dried lemon using a knife or a safer tool like a fork. Don’t throw the water of boiled lemons. It’s full of flavor.

Final pot

– Stir fry a chopped onion.

– When the onion becomes golden add a bit of turmeric and stir.

– Add meat, meat broth, herbs & dried lemons and its water to the pot and simmer for at least ⏳1.5 hour

– 10 minutes before finishing, add the beans (just to maintain their shape and avoid the stew becomes mushy)

When the dark green oil is visible on top while the stew is dense and the flavors are well settled (جا افتاده), the Ghormeh sabzi is ready!

Notes

• The longer Ghormeh sabzi cooks the better its flavors combines.
• I used a food processor to chop the herbs (to be quicker).
• The amount of red beans is subjective, it’s up to your taste. Some like it with loads of beans and some don’t.
• Some people cook the beans separately and while cooking they throw its water so It does not cause bloating.
• Pinto beans are used instead of red beans in Iran’s Azarbaijan’s province version.
• For those who aren’t familiar with Persian cuisine, the taste of dried lemon is something unexpected and strong. Advise your guests of its presence because some might try to eat them without knowing it. Just to avoid shocking surprises. (lol this happened to me with my Italian friends)
• As accompaniment Ghormeh sabzi is served with: plain yogurt, salad, and raw onions.

Serve it with white rice decorated with saffron preferably with tahdig!

Noosh-e-jan! ☺️ (Buon appetite)

The post Ghormeh Sabzi the Persian stew of herbs appeared first on Foodcraftz.

Rabbit has a lean meat so to balance that, better to marinade the rabbit a night before in extra virgin olive oil, herbs, black pepper, garlic. (or any spices of your choice)

Ingredients | 2 servings

• half of a Rabbit
• 1 Onion
• Garlic and Herbs
• 1/2 cup Sour Cream
• 200g/ 7oz chopped Champignon Mushroom (frozen or fresh)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup White Wine
• Chopped Parsley for garnish
• Salt and Black Pepper (to taste)

Preparation

– Mix rabbit with extra virgin olive oil, black pepper, herbs (rosemary, sage, bay leaf), and garlic. Put in the fridge and let it rest for minimum ⏳ 6 hours or overnight.

– No salt has been added to maintain the juice inside the meat.

– Remove the mix from the fridge, wait half an hour, or until it gets to room temperature.

– Add salt.

♨️ Preheat the oven at 200C°/390F°

– In a pan, on medium heat, brown the rabbit with its marinate, then pour white wine.

– Stir so the alcohol evaporates and the flavors combines.

– In a dutch oven: Stir fry the diced onion with salt and pepper.

– Add rabbit & herbs.

⏳♨️ Place the pot in oven and cook for ⏳ 30 minutes

– Meanwhile, sauté mushrooms with olive oil, salt & pepper.

– Add them to the rest of the ingredients.

⏳ ♨️ Continue to cook for another ⏳ 30 minutes in the oven.

Last touch:

– Remove the pot from the oven to the stove, add cream & chopped parsley, give it a stir and after 2-3 minutes it’s ready!

Notes

• In a dutch oven rabbit cooks perfectly in just 1 hour. In a normal pot you’ll need more time.
• In case you don’t want to use the oven, this recipe works perfectly on the stove. First cook rabbit for 1 hour then add mushrooms and cook another 30 minutes.

Bon appétit! ☺️

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In many Iranian restaurants, it is served as an appetizer. Kuku is like Italian frittata, the only difference is, it has fewer eggs.

Ingredients | 3-4 servings

• 300g/10oz chopped Coriander
• 300g/10oz chopped Leek or Chives
• 200g/7oz chopped Dill
• 200g/7oz chopped Parsley
• 4-5 Eggs
• 1 clove of Garlic
• 1 teaspoon Turmeric
• 1 tsp Salt
• Black Pepper to taste
• Ghee or oil
• Optional: 2 tbsp Zereshk

Preparation

– Chop all herbs.

– In a big bowl add herbs, grated garlic, turmeric, salt, black pepper, eggs.

Optional: you can add zereshk (barberries) at this point.

– Pour a generous amount of oil or clarified butter into the pan and set the stove on medium heat.

– Add the mix to the pan & make it flat with a spatula.

– Cover the pan with lid, and ⏳wait 10 minutes until the eggs starts to cook and kuku becomes solid.

– Remove the lid and wait Kuku sabzi, becomes slightly dry divide into 4 pieces and overturn each piece carefully.

– Pour more oil, so the other part fries and cooks as well. This will take other ⏳8-10 more minutes.

The Kuku of herbs is ready.

Notes

• This can be a low carb dish if you serve it with other veggies or salad.
• It is ideal for sandwiches with pickles.
• Many likes to have Kuku sabzi with lemon on top or plain yogurt, traditionally it’s served with bread or white rice.

Noosh-e-jan ☺️

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