For those of you unfamiliar with Khorest, it is a Persian stew and one of the pillars of Iranian cuisine. I have to admit that I always found the idea of cooking Khorest very intimidating. It seemed complicated and time-consuming and best left up to the experts….. namely my mother. But once she began to teach me, I learnt that, while Khorests do take a long time to simmer (as do most stews), many of them are incredibly simple to prepare and are the perfect make ahead dinner.Khorest-e Ghaimeh was always one of my favourite stews growing up and one of the absolute easiest Khorests to prepare. It is a savoury mix of tender beef, yellow split peas flavoured with rich tomato and tangy dried persian limes and then topped with fried potatoes. What child wouldn’t love a stew that is essentially topped with french fries!There is much debate in my family about how the potatoes should be served. My mother and I like to serve them on top of the Khorest as a garnish so they remain crispy. My father, on the other hand, says that the “correct” way is to incorporate the fried potatoes into the stew so they absorb the delicious flavours. You be the judge.
