Khorest Lapeh (Persian Stew with Split Peas)
Persian stews are incomplete without rice. Here is the recipe for Polo ba tahdig (Persian rice).
INGREDIENTS
1 lb boneless skinless chicken thigh or breast, cut into bite-sized pieces (use as much chicken as you like or omit to make stew vegan)
avocado oil
1 large onion or 2 medium onions, finely diced (if you are making the stew vegan use more onion ~1.5 large onions)
salt and pepper
turmeric
powdered saffron (optional)
1 cup sour grapes (jarred in brine or frozen from persian market), rinsed
2 cups quick or slow cook yellow split peas (sort through and remove any pebbles and then rinse well)
water
18-20 oz crushed tomato (I like the Jovial brand)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 eggplant
2-3 zucchini
1 eggplant
sprinkle with dried ground lime
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees convection or 425 degrees regular.
In a large stainless steel pot or dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons avocado/olive oil. Add onion and sauté over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. As the onions begin to caramelize, check to see if additional oil is needed (I added another 1.5 tablespoons of oil). Once they begin to develop a color, start by adding ½ teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of pepper, and a heaping ½ teaspoon of turmeric. Sauté over low-to-medium heat until caramelized.
While onions sauté, add cleaned and rinsed split peas to a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat. Once they are dry add 1 tablespoon of avocado oil. Lightly toast until fragrant. Then add 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cover with a lid. After ~10-15 minutes, add 3/4 teaspoon salt and a little more water if necessary. Cook until peas reach desired texture (we like ours al-dente, but if you like it softer cook for longer). Season with 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Turn the heat off and keep the lid on.
While onions sauté and split peas cook, season chicken liberally with fine grain sea salt (if your chicken is kosher, skip this step).
For the grapes, you can either cook them in a small pot with 1 tablespoon of water, crushing them with a fork until a thick paste forms. Or you can add 1 cup of sour grapes to the caramelized onions, sauté for a few minutes, and then place the lid to allow the grapes to cook down a bit (with this method, the grapes are mostly in tact). I’ve done both methods. It depends if you want whole grapes in the stew or not).
Then, add chicken to the pot. Season with salt, pepper, and turmeric.
To the onion-grape mixture add tomato paste, crushed tomatoes*, 1 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, turmeric, and 1 cup water. *I like to fill the empty jar of tomatoes with ~¼ cup of water to rinse tomato residue. Stir well.
Place lid on skillet and cook tomato mixture for 10-15 minutes. Then, add in split peas, taste, and adjust for seasoning/water. Place lid and cook on low for another 20-30 minutes (or longer).
While stew is cooking, cut eggplant in half lengthwise. Place each half cut side down and cut each half in half again lengthwise. Sprinkle both sides of the eggplant with salt and let it sweat. After it has sweated and you see water droplets on the surface, pat dry with a paper towel.
Cut zucchini into thirds lengthwise.
On one parchment-lined baking sheet, toss parsnip fries in melted coconut oil and season with salt and pepper.
On 1-2 parchment-lined baking sheets, place zucchini and eggplant, season liberally with avocado/olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Roast until they begin to soften and become golden. Then broil each sheet pan until the vegetables become golden brown (be sure to watch so they don't burn).
5-10 minutes before you would like to serve the stew, place some of the eggplant and zucchini into the pot so that the flavors marry. Alternatively, you can place the zucchini and eggplant in a separate pot and ladle a few spoonfuls of the stew over it along with a little water. Put the lid on this separate pot and cook on low-medium heat.
Serve the stew in a platter along with the zucchini and eggplant. Serve with Persian rice and sprinkle with ground dried lime, if you want!
