Persian herb and kidney bean stew

Method

1. Chop the onion finely and crush the garlic. Drain and rinse the kidney beans. Chop the parsley, coriander and dill finely, stalks and all. Roughly chop the spinach.
2. Rinse the rice in a sieve, then tip it into a small lidded pan with 300 ml of cold water and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, cover, and cook on the lowest heat for 12 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the lid on.
3. Warm 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat and fry the onion with a pinch of salt for 7 minutes until golden. Stir in the garlic and turmeric for 1 minute and tip it all onto a plate.
4. Pour the remaining oil into the pan, then add the herbs and spinach. Fry for 10 minutes, stirring, until they are very dark and have cooked down to a paste.
5. Put the onion mixture back in, add the kidney beans and 300 ml of water and simmer with the lid slightly ajar for 15 minutes.
6. Squeeze in the juice of half the lime and season well with salt and black pepper. Cut the other half into wedges.
7. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve the stew over it with a lime wedge.

Tip The herbs need the full 10 minutes to darken, and the colour is the flavour. Do not be tempted to stop while they are bright green.

Photo made with AI.

From Nosha · nosha.app