short-cut ghormeh sabzi (herb stew)

Ghormeh Sabzi is one of my favourite persian dishes.  It's pure comfort food and it's easy to have it as a vegetarian option because you can add the meat (chicken or beef) or leave it out (that's what I like to do).

Ghormeh sabzi is a stew made from a mixture of herbs: parsley, coriander, fenugreek, and chives.  Like many persian stews, it can take alot of time and effort to produce, but I just learned about a great shortcut and I'm sharing it with you.

The secret shortcut:  a canned herb mixture you can buy at persian food stores.  The brand we used: Sibone, here a pic:

This canned herb mixture will save you about 1-2 hours of cleaning, dry, cutting and frying the herbs.  And it takes just a great as if you did all that.  I'm a fan.

There's also another specialty item you'll need to pick up at the persian food store: dried key limes.  Here's what they look like whole and cut in half:

Here's the recipe!

Shortcut Ghormeh Sabzi

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 can of Sibone Herb Mixture for Ghormeh Sabzi
2 cups chicken broth
2 dried key limes, cut in half
1 tbsp lemon juice
Optional: 1 can of kidney beans, or pieces of pre-cooked chicken

Directions:
Saute the onion and garlic in canola oil, until caramelized.  Add the canned herb mixture and 2 cups of chicken broth.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.  Add dried key limes, simmer for another 30 minutes.

Serve over rice.  Enjoy!