Khoresh-e Ghormeh Sabzi. Iranian Beef Stew With Aromatic Herbs

I love this Iranian stew, it is so aromatic and delicious, and pretty versatile as well.  It can be made with almost any choice of meat your are fond of, lamb, veal, or even poultry. Although I haven't tried to make this with poultry, I heard that it is equally delicious as well, and of course it is healthier too. My brother in law's mother told me once, that she start to  turn it into a vegetarian meal by omitting the meat or poultry, and increasing the amount of bean.

Khoresh-e Ghormeh Sabzi
Recipe adapted from Najmieh Batmanglij's book: New Food Of Life
Serve 6

2 pounds beef shoulder, or boneless beef shank 
1 large  onion, chopped
2 tsp turmeric
1/3 cup Azuki bean
2 whole dried Limu Omani (Persian limes)
3 to 4 cups chicken stock, or beef stock
3 tbs olive oil
4 cups chopped fresh parsley
1 cup chopped fresh fenugreek leaves (if using dried fenugreek, use 1/2 cup)
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 cups chopped fresh scallion
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a heavy casserole pan, add 1 tbs olive oil. Leave a few second to heat the oil, then add the chopped onion. Fry onion until soft and translucent. Add turmeric, beef shoulder, or shank, Azuki bean, and limu omani - stir to mix. Add water, and bring to a boil. Once it start to boil, turn the heat down and let it simmer.

In another shallow pan set over medium low heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add parsley, fenugreek cilantro, and scallion. Stirring continuously for about 20 minutes until the aroma of the herbs fill the air (-_-). It is important to keep stirring during the process, the least you want is having the herb burned, resulting a bitter taste of the stew. Remove from the heat, add it on to casserole pan. season with salt and pepper, and stir to mix. Now turn the heat to the lowest setting, cover the pan, and let it simmer for 2 hours until the meat is fork tender. 

Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Serve with delicious Persian Rice. Which, I make very often using either lavash (as in the NYTimes recipe), or using potato (see the photo in the middle) which I like better. Delicious!

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