In Episode #37, co-hosts Beata and Bita share strategies of serving foods in summer gatherings now that we are starting to come out of the pandemic, with respect to families with unvaccinated members or kids. Food is normally served family-style in large shared plates and platters in traditional Persian food culture and cuisine when entertaining. Beata and Bita share personal tips and strategies to make Persian foods more individualized and accessible to outdoor patio or picnic gatherings.
Individual servings of traditional Persian dishes covered in this episode include:
- Tahchin bites - tahchin prepared and baked in cupcake molds/ muffin tins
- For more information on tahchin, refer to our episode #30
- Persian corn
- Persian street style corn (in Farsi balal) - grilled to a char, then dipped in salt water
- For a Persian version of Mexican street corn, try serving with feta cheese and sumac spice
- Salad Olivier
- Scooped and served in a ball shape on leaf lettuce (gem lettuce leaf)
- Served in individual ball shapes and served in cupcake liners, muffin liners
- Scooped into pita or lavash bread and rolled up into roll sandwiches and served on a platter
- More info in episode #24
- Fruit kebabs
- Hard melon such as cantaloupe or honeydew - can cut into shapes using shape cutters, cookie cutters
- Strawberries
- Grapes
- Mini marshmallows as a treat and to entice picky eaters to eat more fruit
- Deconstructed Salad shirazi
- Caprese salad skewer style - experiment with tomato, Persian cucumber, feta. Can garnish with mint leaves, drizzle with lemon or lime juice and salt
- Persian wafer ice cream sandwiches
- Refer to our episode #34 for more ice cream serving tips and strategies
- Additional recipes referenced in The Persian Appetizers episode #18:
- Jeweled cinnamon rolls
- Koo koo bites
- Pomegranate glazed chicken wings
- Meatballs with fesenjoon sauce
Ask the Beats!
This week Bita asks Beata, how do you handle when guests have special dietary needs such as food sensitivities, allergies, or are vegetarian?
- Make at least one dish that accommodates food restriction
- Display a special party day menu including ingredients and symbols such as g-f, dairy-free, contains nuts, vegetarian, etc.
Resources and recipes from this episode:
Tahchin:
- Bita’s Tahchin Bites
- Beata’s Persian Jeweled Tahchin
Persian Street corn:
- Bita’s Balal | Persian Street Corn
- Persian street corn video: Balal | Persian Street Corn
Fessenjoon
- Bita’s Khoresh Fesenjan | Persian Pomegranate Chicken Recipe
- Beata’s Walnut and Pomegranate Stew – Khoreshteh Fessenjoon
Koo Koo Sabzi
- Bita’s Kookoo Sabzi | Quiche Muffins
- Beata’s Persian Frittata Koo Koo Sabzi
Additional recipes:
- Jeweled Cinnamon Rolls
- Pomegranate Glazed Chicken Wings
- Salad Olivier Persian Potato Salad
- Fruit kababs
- Bita’s Nice Cream Bastani
Other Modern Persian Food episodes referenced in this episode:
Episode 18: Persian Appetizers
Salad Olivier in: Episode 24: Norooz Part 3: Persian New Year Sizdah Bedar
Episode 34: Bastani | Persian Ice Cream
All Modern Persian Food episodes can be found at: https://modernpersianfood.com/episodes/
Co-host Beata Nazem Kelley blog: https://beatseats.com
Co-host Bita Arabian blog: https://ovenhug.com
Podcast production by Alvarez Audio