A Grande Iranian Style "Sabzi" Herb & Feta Platter
There is a long tradition of featuring an fresh herb platter alongside any Iranian menu, and Iranians enjoy combining their meals with piles of herbs as a companion to any dish. Fresh herbs can consist of any combination of mint, lemon basil, flat chives, tarragon, cilantro, watercress, and much more. Typically the herb platter also includes feta cheese, nuts, and radishes. Today we join Armita Hosseini of Instagram’s @CookingWithArmita to learn about her magnificent herb platter and see how she has taken this simple accompaniment to a whole new level.
Follow Armita and check out all her innovative recipes and presentations at: Instagram: cookingwitharmita
Learn more about #FarhangFlavor and see all our current demos by visiting us at https://www.farhang.org/flavor
Iranian Herb and Feta Platter
Serves: 5-10 people
Prep time: 30 mins
Plating: 20 minutes
Platter Ingredients (proportion of the ingredients are dependent on the size of the board):
· 1 cup raw or dried pistachios (shells removed), almonds, and walnuts
· 1 small watermelon, sliced
· 1 to 2 apples, sliced
· grapes (black or green)
· 1 pomegranate, seeded
· 2 tomatoes, sliced
· 3-4 mini Persian cucumber, sliced (optional)
· 1 bunch of fresh red turnips, thoroughly washed (you may keep the stems for a visually appealing look or remove it)
· 2 bunches of fresh mint, thoroughly washed and stems removed
· 2 bunches of fresh dill, thoroughly washed and stems removed
· 2 bunches of scallions, thoroughly washed and cut in half
· 2 bunches of fresh tarragon, thoroughly washed
· 2 bunches of fresh Italian parsley, thoroughly washed and stems removed
· 2 bunches of fresh cilantro, thoroughly washed and stems removed
· 2 to 3 - ½ cup of jam of your choice (e.g., carrot, rose petals, sour cherry, honey)
· 1 Medium to Large Wooden Cheese Board
· 2-3 small cups for yogurt dip and jam/honey dips
Preparation for the board:
1. Thoroughly wash all your herbs and chop them in bite size pieces. We call this process "Sabzi-Pak-Kardan."
2. Cut fresh fruits and vegetables in the size of your choice. Apples, watermelon, mini Persian cucumber, and tomatoes can be sliced. For a visually appealing look, you may have some whole fruits and vegetables on the herb-platter.
Garnish:
Crushed Rose Petals and 1 tablespoon of Jam or honey of your choice –Drizzle on top of the feta cheese
Platter set up tips/instructions:
1. Start with the big items: take the bowls and place them on the platter
2. Next, add the feta cheese as the center (focal point of your board. Cheese should really be served at room temperature,
3. I like to serve Feta Cheese in a variety of shapes to add visual interest. I prefer to cut them into slices or cubes and stack them up on the board – this makes it easier for guests to grab a piece without having to cut through a hard cheese with a cheese knife and makes the cheese plate more interesting. You may want to break up the cheese into smaller chunks and place them on the board.
4. Next, the bread! Because I want to devote as much real estate as possible to the cheese, I put just a handful of Iranian breads: Barbari and Sangak (toasted and cut into smaller pieces) on the edges of the platter in either ends of the board for easier access. Fan out the breads along the edges of the herb-cheese platter to make them easy to grab.
5. Fill in big spaces with chopped herbs, Nuts and fruits. Now that the big pieces are on our cheese plate, it’s time to have some fun and start filling in the gaps! This is where a cheese-herb platter really starts to come together (and where you get the WOW factor that will have your party guests asking you to teach THEM how to assemble an herb-cheese platter.
6. First, add some fruit. I used watermelon (sliced) and pomegranate here, but you can use any fruit you have on hand. I like to break the fruit into relatively small pieces and scatter it in a few places across the board – I put grapes on either side of this cheese plate to help it look balanced (and make it easy for guests to grab a grape from either side!)
7. Next, add nuts and dried fruit! I used walnuts and almonds here. Drop a few nuts into the smaller blank spaces on the middle of your board to add some texture and cover any open spots.
8. Next up: fill those bowls with dips and jams! You can add a variety of jams (carrot, sour cherry, honey, or rose petal jams). My favorites include fig or blackberry jam, roasted beet dip (or any dip!), and min-yogurt dip.
9. Tuck remaining greenery (sabzi) into the empty spaces
10. Lastly, garnish the top of your cheese with a sprinkle of rose petals, and a drizzle of jam (if desired)
NOUSH-E-JAAN! (Enjoy)
Follow Armita and check out all her innovative recipes and presentations at: Instagram: cookingwitharmita
Learn more about #FarhangFlavor and see all our current demos by visiting us at https://www.farhang.org/flavor
Iranian Herb and Feta Platter
Serves: 5-10 people
Prep time: 30 mins
Plating: 20 minutes
Platter Ingredients (proportion of the ingredients are dependent on the size of the board):
· 1 cup raw or dried pistachios (shells removed), almonds, and walnuts
· 1 small watermelon, sliced
· 1 to 2 apples, sliced
· grapes (black or green)
· 1 pomegranate, seeded
· 2 tomatoes, sliced
· 3-4 mini Persian cucumber, sliced (optional)
· 1 bunch of fresh red turnips, thoroughly washed (you may keep the stems for a visually appealing look or remove it)
· 2 bunches of fresh mint, thoroughly washed and stems removed
· 2 bunches of fresh dill, thoroughly washed and stems removed
· 2 bunches of scallions, thoroughly washed and cut in half
· 2 bunches of fresh tarragon, thoroughly washed
· 2 bunches of fresh Italian parsley, thoroughly washed and stems removed
· 2 bunches of fresh cilantro, thoroughly washed and stems removed
· 2 to 3 - ½ cup of jam of your choice (e.g., carrot, rose petals, sour cherry, honey)
· 1 Medium to Large Wooden Cheese Board
· 2-3 small cups for yogurt dip and jam/honey dips
Preparation for the board:
1. Thoroughly wash all your herbs and chop them in bite size pieces. We call this process "Sabzi-Pak-Kardan."
2. Cut fresh fruits and vegetables in the size of your choice. Apples, watermelon, mini Persian cucumber, and tomatoes can be sliced. For a visually appealing look, you may have some whole fruits and vegetables on the herb-platter.
Garnish:
Crushed Rose Petals and 1 tablespoon of Jam or honey of your choice –Drizzle on top of the feta cheese
Platter set up tips/instructions:
1. Start with the big items: take the bowls and place them on the platter
2. Next, add the feta cheese as the center (focal point of your board. Cheese should really be served at room temperature,
3. I like to serve Feta Cheese in a variety of shapes to add visual interest. I prefer to cut them into slices or cubes and stack them up on the board – this makes it easier for guests to grab a piece without having to cut through a hard cheese with a cheese knife and makes the cheese plate more interesting. You may want to break up the cheese into smaller chunks and place them on the board.
4. Next, the bread! Because I want to devote as much real estate as possible to the cheese, I put just a handful of Iranian breads: Barbari and Sangak (toasted and cut into smaller pieces) on the edges of the platter in either ends of the board for easier access. Fan out the breads along the edges of the herb-cheese platter to make them easy to grab.
5. Fill in big spaces with chopped herbs, Nuts and fruits. Now that the big pieces are on our cheese plate, it’s time to have some fun and start filling in the gaps! This is where a cheese-herb platter really starts to come together (and where you get the WOW factor that will have your party guests asking you to teach THEM how to assemble an herb-cheese platter.
6. First, add some fruit. I used watermelon (sliced) and pomegranate here, but you can use any fruit you have on hand. I like to break the fruit into relatively small pieces and scatter it in a few places across the board – I put grapes on either side of this cheese plate to help it look balanced (and make it easy for guests to grab a grape from either side!)
7. Next, add nuts and dried fruit! I used walnuts and almonds here. Drop a few nuts into the smaller blank spaces on the middle of your board to add some texture and cover any open spots.
8. Next up: fill those bowls with dips and jams! You can add a variety of jams (carrot, sour cherry, honey, or rose petal jams). My favorites include fig or blackberry jam, roasted beet dip (or any dip!), and min-yogurt dip.
9. Tuck remaining greenery (sabzi) into the empty spaces
10. Lastly, garnish the top of your cheese with a sprinkle of rose petals, and a drizzle of jam (if desired)
NOUSH-E-JAAN! (Enjoy)
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