One Pot Wonder: Persian Stew with Sweet Potatoes and Spinach

As the chill of fall begins to set in, we begin to crave warmth and cozy sustenance. What better way to celebrate the autumnal equinox than to prepare a delicious pot of stew or chili, the kind that will fill your home with a divine bouquet of spices. The last two times that I prepared dinner, it was a "one pot wonder" kind of meal. These wonders usually consist of a bunch of savory (or sometimes sweet) ingredients thrown into a big pot and left on the stove to simmer and blossom into hearty, filling bowls of awesomeness. Today’s entry will focus on the Persian stew, or what I like to think of it as, Christmas in a bowl.

On Thursday night I made Persian stew, or khoresh, with sweet potatoes and spinach. I retrieved the recipe from Mollie Katzen's website, which is quickly becoming my go-to for great vegetarian recipes and ideas. Before I could prepare the stew, I first had to blend the Persian Allspice. I can say, without a doubt, that this is one of the most divine things I have ever smelled in my life. The spices, coriander seeds, cardamom pods, cumin seeds, cinnamon, turmeric, ground ginger, cloves, and black pepper, had to be condensed into one ground format. To make these happen, we threw everything into our coffee grinder (now part time spice grinder). It worked fabulously, as the end result was a golden-colored dust of aromatic spices.

After the spices were made, it was on to prepping the vegetables, which actually wasn’t a lot of work. The onions and garlic needed to be chopped, along with peeling and chopping of the sweet potatoes. I also chopped the nectarines that I was using as a substitute for plums. I have found, thus far in my cooking experience, that it is best to prep all of your ingredients ahead of time. This prevents you from running around the kitchen like a mad woman (or man), trying to get everything together to throw in at just the right time. Veteran cooks probably know this, but this is something that I have had to learn the hard way.

After everything was prepped, I heated olive oil in my pan over medium heat and threw in the onions and the Allspice to sauté together. Again, the bouquet of this mixture was heavenly. I actually ended up having a coughing fit because I was just standing over the pot, inhaling the spices. Don’t inhale when standing over such an intense mix of spices.

After the onions were sautéed, I added the sweet potatoes, garlic, 2 cups of orange juice (1 cup fresh squeezed, 1 cup store bought), and the remaining salt. The stew was to now simmer for 30 minutes. Just imagine the scents now, as the pungent spices mixed with the sweet orange juice. Our house smelled amazing! It reminded me of Christmas, with a zesty, sweet scent hanging in the air.

The smell is unbelievably good! 

At the last few moments of cooking, I added the spinach and the nectarines and let it simmer for another 5-10 minutes. The end result was a thick, spicy stew that tasted like winter with its cinnamon and orange aromas. I served it with leftover chapatis, although basmati rice would have been a fantastic compliment to the meal. Ashwin claims it is one of his most favorite things that I have made for him so far.

So tasty!

Recommended wine pairing: a lush, fruit-forward California Pinot Noir. I specify a California (preferably coastal) Pinot because Oregon pinots (while amazing) tend to be more on the earthy, spicy side and you don’t want to take away from the spice component of this dish.

Cheers and happy eating!