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Rhubarb Stew: Persian Style (khoresh -e- rivaas)

Spring is upon us with all its amazing gifts. Rhubarb is one of them! It is something that you can only find in the spring and you do not want to miss the opportunity to make savory and sweet dishes with it! In this post, I introduce to you Rhubarb stew, which is an Persian (Iranian) dish. Khoresh (stew) is a major component of Iranian cuisine and is usually consisted of meat/chicken, herbs/legumes/fruit/vegetables with onion and spices. Khoreshs can be sour (like this one), sweet or somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. It is almost always eaten with white Iranian rice (polow or chelow), which is similar to Basmati rice lengthwise, but far more aromatic.

Let's get onto business:
Ingredients for 6 people:
1 pound rhubarbs, cut into 2-3 centimeter (1 inch) pieces
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 pound stew meat (can be replaced with chicken or mushrooms)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice (optional)
vegetable oil 3-4 tablespoons
salt and black pepper to taste




Directions:

In a skillet with a 3-4 tablespoons of oil, sauté the mint and parsley. Traditionally, the herb are fried until their color turns significantly darker. However, as the nutrients will be removed that way, you can fry them as you like. Set the herb aside. 
In a skillet, sauté the sliced onions until golden, add the meat after a few minutes until the sides change color. Then add two cups of water and let it be on medium heat for a couple of hours, until the meat is almost done. 
Then add the herbs that were set aside along with 1/4 of the rhubarbs and salt and pepper to the pot. If the water is completely gone add, 1/2 cup. I prefer my khoresh not watery, but if you like otherwise you can add more water. Turn down the heat to low. The longer the stew cooks the more delicious it will become. Just watch the water. Since, rhubarb is very heat sensitive, and will dissolve, we add the remaining rhubarbs 20-30 minutes before serving. 


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