April: Ghormeh Sabzi
Serves 6
Estimated time for preparation and cooking: 1 hour 30 minutes - 2 hours
This beautiful Iranian dish was cooked and served by a young man in our Brent youth club. Whilst other young people came in and out of the kitchen, curious to look at the delicacies they would soon be eating, the young man expressed how much he enjoyed cooking and the effect it had on his wellbeing.
Ingredients
1 onion
500g pureed or chopped spinach (canned)
Herbs: 1 bunch fresh parsley, ½ bunch fresh coriander, ½ bunch fresh chives, 1 tbsp dried fenugreek
Salt
Lemon juice
1.5 cups rice
6 chicken drumsticks
2 tbsp tomato purée
400g canned kidney beans
Oil
Estimated time: 1 hour 30 minutes - 2 hours for preparation and cooking
Recipe
1. Finely chop the onions.
2. Add the spinach and herbs to a sauce pan on a low heat with a little oil. If dry, add a splash of water to hydrate. Cook for 10 minutes until fragrant.
3. Cover the spinach in water with salt, and cover with a lid on a high heat to a vigorous simmer.
4. Put the chicken drumsticks in a bowl with a squeeze of lemon juice, onions and salt, and massage by hand for 5 minutes.
5. Let the drumsticks rest under a cloth.
6. After 20 minutes, scoop out the spinach into a separate bowl and mix with tomato paste purée and oil.
7. Pour the spinach mixture back into the saucepan and simmer for another 30 minutes.
8. Add the chicken drumsticks to the mixture for 30 minutes, ensuring you have enough water to submerge the meat.
9. Wash the kidney beans and add these in the last 10 minutes of cooking.
10. Cook the rice according to instructions.
11. Serve the spinach and chicken on top of the rice with a side salad.