Khoresh’e Kadu Halvai • خورش کدو حلوای • Butternut Squash Stew

Recipe by:    Fae’s Twist & Tango    (fae-magazine.com)

INGREDIENTS

•   680 g/ 1½  lbs beef stewing meat  (or  lamb, chicken)
•   1 medium onion
•   vegetable oil
•   1 small bay leaf
•   4 cups hot water
•   1 medium butternut squash (~ 1150 g/ ~2.5 lbs)
•   280 g/ 10 oz pitted dried plums (26 pieces)
•   1 flat Tbsp tomato paste (no more)
•   ½  tsp  ground cinnamon
•   ½  tsp salt
•   pinch (1/16 tsp) pepper
•   4  Tbsp sugar
•   4  Tbsp lime juice
•   dash (1/8 tsp)  ground saffron  dissolved in 1 Tbsp hot water
•   1 Tbsp crispy caramelized onion

DIRECTIONS

◊  Trim fat and sinew from beef, cut  in 5 cm/ 2″ square pieces.

◊  Cut onion in half, putting cut side on the board, slice in  6mm/ ¼”  thick slices.
In a deep, non-stick pot, add 2 Tbsp oil and put on medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add cut onions. Stir several times, until translucent.

◊  Add cut meat to pot with onion and sear all sides of the meat. Add hot water and bay leaf, lower  heat to medium-low and simmer for 1 hour.

◊  Meanwhile, cut, peel and remove seeds of  butternut squash.  Cut them in  2cm/ ¾” thick rings or  4cm/ 1½” squares.

◊  Fry squash pieces in non-stick deep skillet  with 6 Tbsp of oil on medium-high heat (spatter screen may be needed), until golden crust forms on both sides (no more than 2 minutes each side).

◊  In   20 cm x 30 cm/ 8″x12″ oven-safe dish, at least  7.5 cm/3″ deep, spread fried butternut squash pieces. Spread the plums over.

◊  Place rack on middle shelf of oven and preheat oven to   190°C / 375°F.

◊  When meat is semi-cooked (after 1 hour of simmering) add tomato paste, cinnamon, salt, pepper, sugar, lime juice, and saffron water, gently stir and simmer for one more minute. Pour meat mixture over squash and plums.

◊  Cover dish tight with foil, place in oven and bake for 1 hour or until meat is tender.

◊  Sprinkle with caramelized onion before serving.  Serve with Persian rice.

~   Noushe jan!     •    نوش جان    ~

A few important points in making an outstanding Persian khoresh:

♦  Don’t skimp on oil… use as much as needed for frying/sautéing.  Boiling oil also cooks and adds flavor. It can be skimmed off before serving.
♦  Brown/sear  onion and meat very well.
♦  Adding 1/16 ~ 1/8 tsp of  ground saffron, dissolved in 1 Tbsp hot water, will substantially add to taste.
♦  Don’t use too much water for cooking, just enough to steam and condense. –Simmer on low heat for a long time. This helps flavor fusion of ingredients.
♦  Best if stew is made a day in advance and refrigerated for taste to meld.
♦  Almost all stews can be frozen.  Exception: If stew includes potato(es), potato pieces to be removed before freezing.
♦  There are red [1] stews (using tomato paste) and green [1] stews (using herbs). Garnishing red stews sparingly with caramelized onion before serving not only further enhances taste  but visually enhances the dish.

[1]  Slang:   ‘red’  and  ‘green’  are used to specify  types of stews or mixed rices, using tomato paste  vs.  herbs respectively.  This concept also helps  host/hostess plan an event  menu and serve a balance of  reds  and  greens.