Persian Spinach Potatoes And Peas Food

PERSIAN SPINACH, POTATOES AND PEAS

Steps:

• Scrub potatoes, and put in a pot with water to cover. Cover pot, and cook until fork-tender, about 20 minutes, depending on size.
• Chop whole onion. Saute onion in a nonstick pan in very hot oil over medium-high heat, until it begins to soften and brown.
• Mince garlic, and add to onion as it cooks.
• Wash spinach; remove tough stems, and cook spinach in covered pot in the water clinging to it, until it wilts, 4 or 5 minutes, stirring once or twice.
• Stir peas into onion mixture and cook 2 or 3 minutes.
• When spinach is cooked, drain it, thoroughly pressing the water out. Cut up and add to cooked onion, along with nutmeg and yogurt.
• When potatoes are cooked, drain and cut into bite-size pieces and stir into spinach mixture. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

SPINACH, PEA AND POTATO SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook, stirring, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the potato, thyme, garlic, nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper and cook, stirring, until the potatoes are well coated, 2 to 3 minutes more. Pour in the broth and bring to a simmer.
• Simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes, adjusting the heat as needed to maintain a simmer. Stir in the peas and spinach and cook 5 minutes more. Remove from the heat, discard the thyme and let cool at least 5 minutes. Carefully puree until smooth with a handheld immersion blender or in 2 to 3 batches in a blender (do not fill the blender more than halfway full per batch).
• Stir in the cream and reheat the soup if necessary, adjusting the consistency and seasoning with additional water, salt and pepper.
• Serve hot sprinkled with toasted walnuts.

SPINACH AND CHICK PEAS WITH BACON

Steps:

• Bring a 3-quart pot three fourths full of water to a boil. Add bacon and cook 2 minutes. Drain bacon and rinse in cold water. Pat dry and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces.
• Cook bacon in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until browned. Leaving bacon in skillet, spoon off all but 1 tablespoon fat. Add 2 tablespoons oil, chickpeas, and red pepper flakes to skillet and saut) over high heat, stirring occasionally, until chickpeas begin to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in spinach and garlic and sauté, stirring, until spinach is wilted. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with remaining tablespoon oil.

ITALIAN POTATOES AND SPINACH

Steps:

• Cook potatoes in boiling salted water until tender and drain in a colander reserving 1/4 cup of liquid.
• Let potatoes steam 3 minutes, shaking once, then remove to a serving dish.
• While potatoes are cooking, place oil, garlic and red pepper flakes in a small skillet and cook slowly over low heat until garlic is lightly browned.
• When potatoes are ready, cook spinach according to package directions.
• Add spinach, garlic-pepper oil (and some reserved liquid if needed) to potatoes, toss, season with salt and pepper and serve at once.

ABGOOSHT (PERSIAN LAMB AND CHICKPEA STEW)

Steps:

• The night before you plan to cook, season the lamb with turmeric, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cover and refrigerate. Place chickpeas and beans in a medium bowl; add 3 cups water and a generous pinch of salt. Refrigerate overnight.
• To cook: Set a large Dutch oven or soup pot over high heat. Add lamb, onions, tomato paste and 8 cups water. Drain chickpeas and beans and add to pot. Bring to a boil, stir to dissolve tomato paste, and cover pot partially with a lid. Reduce heat and simmer stew for 2 hours.
• Peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch pieces. Add potatoes and Omani limes to pot and continue simmering until potatoes and meat are both completely tender, about 1 hour. Taste and adjust the seasoning of the broth with salt and pepper.
• Remove limes from pot, and one by one, juice them into the soup through a sieve by pressing down on them with a spoon. (Avoid letting the seeds through the sieve, as they can be bitter.) Taste the broth after juicing each lime and add just enough so that the broth is tangy and bright.
• Use the sieve to remove the meat, potatoes and beans from the pot and transfer them to a large bowl. Use a fork to pull the meat off the bones. If any of the bones have marrow, use a skewer to remove it and add to the bowl. Use a potato masher to mash meat, beans and potatoes into a soft, uniform paste - this is called goosht kubideh, literally "mashed meat." If the mixture appears dry, add a few spoonfuls of broth and continue to mash until unctuous and smooth. Taste the paste and adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper and Omani lime juice, as needed.
• To serve, bring broth and goosht kubideh to the table, along with bowls of liteh pickles, salad-e Shirazi, warmed sangak bread, fresh herbs and, if you like, doogh. All of the sides serve as palate cleansers to balance the richness of the dish.
• Traditionally, the broth is eaten first with sangak bread, which can hold up to the broth without disintegrating. Typically, the bread is torn into bite-size pieces and added to broth to soak for a couple of minutes before digging in. This process is called tilit.
• Serve the goosht kubideh separately after everyone has had a bowl of broth. Traditionally the meat paste is made into small sandwiches with fresh herbs, and eaten with alternate bites of salad-e Shirazi and liteh pickle. Leftover goosht kubideh makes for a great sandwich or baby food, and freezes well for up to 2 weeks.

SPINACH AND PEAS

Steps:

• Prepare an ice water bath; set aside. Line a baking sheet with a cooling rack; set aside.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a generous amount of salt and the peas. Cook until bright green, 3 to 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to ice water bath to stop the peas from cooking. Drain, shaking off excess liquid; set aside. Add the spinach to the boiling water and cook, just until wilted, about 1 minute. Drain, squeezing out excess moisture, and transfer to wire rack to dry.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, but not brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in peas, and cook 1 minute. Add the spinach, tossing to combine, and heat through, 1 to 2 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

PERSIAN INSPIRED SALAD WITH SWEET POTATO AND SPINACH

Steps:

• Microwave sweet potato until soft. Run cold water over potato, while peeling skin off. Set aside.
• In a skillet, brown the onions and garlic in butter or ghee. Then add sweet potato, garbanzo beans, rose water, hot pepper flakes, turmeric, saffron and salt.
• Let mixture cool then add dill, spearmint, parsley, garlic stems and spinach.
• Dress with some lemon juice and olive oil.
• Garnish with a dollop of yogurt and pine nuts.

POTATO AND PEA SAMOSAS

Steps:

• To make the pastry, add the oil to the flour with 100ml warm water and mix to form a dough. Knead briefly and leave to rest for 30 mins.
• Fry the onions, garlic, ginger and chilli together in 2 tbsp oil for 1 min, then add the potatoes. Cook over a low heat, stirring often, until the potatoes are cooked through - add a little water if they begin to stick. Add the peas or beans and cook until tender, then stir in the coriander, season well and leave to cool.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Divide the dough into 8 balls. One by one, roll each ball into a thin circle, then halve to make 2 semi-circles. Use your finger to brush a little water along the straight edges. Hold one and bring the 2 corners together and, using your hand as a cup, seal along the straight edge to form into cones.
• Fill the cones with the potato mix and pinch the tops closed, sealing again with water. Brush with remaining oil on all sides. Put on baking sheet and bake for 20 mins or until the pastry is crisp. Serve with mango chutney.