We start pickling vegetables for the winter in late summer and autumn. Torshi Liteh – pickled vegetables ترشی لیته, which is very popular in Iran, is quite tasty. Torshi comes from the word torsh, which means sour, and so it is. If you like pickles, you’ll love my torshi recipe. The vegetables and spice mixes in torshi can vary depending on the region and preferences. The preparation is simple and quick as a flash.
Do you have too much zucchini in your garden and are looking for zucchini recipes? In that case, I have the perfect recipe for you today. My all-time favorite Mezze, as we say Mazeh is Kuku Kadoo Sabz- Persian Zucchini Frittata. I prepared Kuku Kadoo Sabz – Persian Zucchini Frittata for the blog event Mezze shared by Zora and me after the Adasi – Persian lentil spread. Oriental spices and fresh herbs are the “secret” ingredients, and the Kuku is quick to prepare and super healthy. In Iran, we bake Kuku with a lot of fat in a pan. I created a low-calorie and shape-friendly option and baked the kuku in a casserole dish in the oven. Kuku is low carb, vegetarian, and rich in protein. Watch Video on Instagram
Have you ever stuffed tomatoes? It’s about time. My Dolmeh Godje Faranghi – Persian style stuffed tomatoes دلمه گوجه فرنگی are light, healthy and vegan. I harvest the tomatoes for this recipe from my garden. There are still some hanging on the bush, but I believe that’s the end of the tomato harvest for this year. Cut the tops off the tomatoes and scoop them out. Fill them with rice and herbs such as cilantro, parsley, mint, and season with turmeric. Place the cap on top and put it in the baking dish, cover with a lemony tomato sauce and bake in the oven. Now you only have to wait. Baking in the oven makes the tomatoes very aromatic, sweet, and with the lemony sauce, a taste explosion in your mouth.
Happy Cheesecake Day! To celebrate, I have a simple recipe for you and take you on a culinary journey to Greece. This No Bake Honey and Yogurt Cheesecake with Thyme is with tender oatmeal cookies, butter, and thyme. The creamy filling consists of Greek-style yogurt, full-fat cream cheese, icing sugar, lemon zest, and white chocolate and melts in your mouth. Top it with the delightful thyme honey just before serving.
Tirgan Mobarak! Happy Tirgan! Like all our Persian festivals, at Tirgan, there is a lot of dancing, singing, and reciting poems. It’s tradition to splash water on each other (Ab Pashi) on this day. We also eat certain foods, such as my Soup-e Esfenadj – Spinach Soup for Tirgan. The recipe is super simple! The soup includes fresh baby spinach, potatoes, onions, and oriental spices. It’s vegetarian, as I made it with vegetable stock, but you can also use chicken stock. Add a blob of Greek yogurt, fresh mint, and a few drops of good olive oil to garnish. This creamy, healthy, and delicious soup is on your table in no time.
Kisir – Turkish Bulgur Salad is one of my favorite salads from Turkish cuisine. Bulgur salad is delicious, healthy, and easy to prepare. It’s a savory vegan salad with a nutty flavor due to the bulgur. Cucumbers, tomatoes, and green onions add a fresh touch. The dressing of pomegranate molasses, parsley, mint, lemon, and olive oil adds a lovely juicy touch. Paprika paste, pul biber, salt and pepper add spice. My favorite way to eat Kisir is in lettuce. Take a tablespoon of Kisir and place it in the middle of a lettuce leave and roll it up to form a wrap. It is an explosion of flavor on your palate. Try it out for sure!
Valak Kuku is a delicious quick pan-fried egg dish blended with tasty wild garlic, eggs, crunchy walnuts, and tart barberries. Spices like coriander, cinnamon, and turmeric add this irresistible sweet and sour flavor. I soak the walnuts and barberries in boiling water, which gives the walnuts a nice fresh touch and makes them less floury, so try it out. For Sabzi Khordan – a Persian herb dish, I also soak the walnuts and enjoy the fresh taste. Do you want to learn more about wild garlic? I have posted about it here.
Finally, it’s wild garlic time, and you can only find it on the market a few weeks of the year, so I prepared several Persian recipes with wild garlic. I made Valak Polo today, a traditional Persian Rice Dish with Wild Garlic, Sumac, and Saffron. We serve Chicken or meatballs with this dish in Iran. I prefer to fish with Valak Polo, so I made it with salmon in a lemony marinade. The marinade is to die for and consists of rose petals, ground dried lime, bay leaves, sumac, cinnamon, grated zest of a lemon, lemon juice, and lemon pepper tossed in olive oil. Salmon tastes best when you marinate it for about 2 hours. If you like wild garlic, you might also like my creamy One Pot Past with green asparagus and wild garlic, as I also show you the place near my home where wild garlic grows. Watch Video on Instagram (Wild Garlic Rice Preparation) Watch Video on Instagram (Marinated Salmon Preparation)
Finally, spring is here, and from March to May is the wild garlic season. In fact, much too short, so I preserve the wild garlic as a delicious wild garlic pesto with roasted cashew nuts and spicy feta, and in a snap, you can spice up pasta, risotto, gnocchi, baked potatoes, grilled meat, or simply a sandwich or sandwich. You only need a few ingredients to whip up this delicious pesto in minutes. Ingredients like wild garlic, roasted cashews, spicy feta, some lemon juice, and the best olive oil are combined in this pesto to a perfect flavor.
Monday was the beginning of spring and the same time as our New Year Norooz. On this day, many dishes are prepared with fresh herbs traditionally, for example, Sabzi Polo – Persian Herb Rice سبزی پلو ، Sabzi Polo ba Mahi – Persian herb rice with orange stuffed trout, Kuku Sabzi – Persian Herb Frittata , Ashe Reshteh – noodle soup with herbs, and Sabzi Khordan – Persian herb platter. Sabzi means herbs, and polo means rice, that is herbed rice. Tender fresh herbs are the first signs of spring, and in my Sabzi Polo, chopped dill, parsley, cilantro, scallions, a whole bulb of garlic, ghee, and saffron add a delicious touch to the rice. As in many Persian dishes, the herbs in Sabzi Polo vary, and each family has its favorite recipe. Watch Video on Instagram
