Persian Vegetarian Tahchin | Spark A Little Sunshine | Lisa Alavi

Give your heart and soul all the best flavors of Persian food in a bite.  Today we are

making Persian tahchin. With a center traditionally created from shredded lemony
chicken, also quite delightful, this take is slightly different bringing the exotic flavors
to the Vegetarian palette. Lisa Alavi's Personalized Vegetarian version of tahchin is
sure to seduce the Vegetarian and Meat-lover souls alike.
 
Persian food, known for it's ability to awaken every taste bud at once, combines the
the aromatic savory essence of saffron rice with egg and yogurt to create formation
at the base, followed by sautéed eggplant and zucchini caramelized at the center to
make your mouth water, a generous amount of fresh dill tops our vegetables further
awakening our every sense with a freshness that hits the heart, followed by another
layer of our saffron rice mix. This combination is oven baked until a perfectly golden
layer crips the entire outside, while the inside takes form still moist and enveloped
in a variety of flavors. The dish is flipped to create a golden shell, which we pour our
zereshk, almonds, pistachios glaze atop. One bite of this encapsulates all of Persia,
from buttery, salty, sweet, tangy while also being crunchy and soft melt in your
mouth. Awaken every sense...

Recipe below... Heaven awaits... You're welcome...

Ingredients:

• 4 zuchinni
• 1 eggplant
• 2 TBS sea salt (usual preference is a Greek Sea Salt)
• Fresh Dill
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 2 shredded garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
• Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Olive Oil
• 3 cups Basmati Rice
• ½ teaspoon ground Persian Saffron (best bought at a Middle-eastern or Persian supermarket unless you have it from a recent trip overseas to ensure high quality)
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 cups Greek yogurt
• 2 TBS Vegan Butter
• 1 TBS zereshk (at Middle-eastern and Persian supermarkets)
• 2 teaspoon sugar
• 10 chopped pistachios
• 8 almond slivers

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl combine crushed saffron with 2 TBS hot water and set aside. For water, you may add it to boiled water via stove top or heat water in a teapot and pour into the saffron. For saffron, you may crush the saffron in a mortar and pestle or Saffron grinder to make it a finely crushed powder. A pinch goes a long way.
2. Chop into small cubes and sauté 4 zucchini and 1 eggplant in olive oil, salt, pepper, dill, shredded garlic, and dry parsley.
3. Remove zucchini and eggplant from heat. Add 1 teaspoon of saffron water to it. Reserve on side.
4. Cook rice to a parboil, approximately boil about 5-6 minutes. If you bite into it or pick it up to pinch, still very much uncooked. Drain, rinse well, and set aside. Allow rice to cool slightly before mixing with yogurt and eggs. When heat touches an egg, your egg will cook, so Persian food requires patience and art in creation. 😉
5. Preheat oven 450 F.
6. In a very large mixing bowl whisk together yogurt and egg yolks until smooth. **We will not use the egg whites in this recipe, so you may store those for another recipe**. Stir in remaining saffron water. Add the drained and cooled rice and gently mix until all of the rice is coated and yellow.
7. Use 1 TBS butter or Vegan butter to grease the bottom and sides of a 9x13 glass pan. You are welcome to try circular or other shaped dishes for presentation, just keep in mind, it may slightly affect cook times.
8. Spread half of the rice mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan.
9. Spread the zucchini and eggplant over the rice layer. Add a generous amount of fresh dill (Be sure to wash the dill well and thoroughly prior).
10. Top with the remaining half of rice mixture and spread evenly across the pan.
11. Cover with foil and place in the oven. For crispy tahchin, bake at 450ºF for 30 minutes, then reduce to 350ºF and let it cook 15 more minutes the same side, then rotate around for another 45 minutes. Rotate the dish halfway through the total cooking time to insure even browning. Total oven cook time is 1 hr 30 min.
12. When the over has just about 10 minutes or less left, heat a small pan over medium high heat. Melt 1 TBS of butter then add zereshk and sugar. Once sugar is mixed and combined, remove from heat. This will be our sweet and savory topping. ** Depending on preference, you may double or triple the topping, depending if you are creating a presentation down the middle or would like more sweetness built into every bite. The art of the palette lies in the balance of flavors. **
13. Take out of the oven and remove the foil. While the dish is hot, take a large serving platter or cooking sheet pan over the rice dish, set on top, hold both and flip to invert the dish. Be careful to invert to both avoid being burned but also to maintain the proper formation of the dish. When inverted, the entire outer layer will be a golden tahdig- yummmm (if you know you know 😋😉), with all the softness preserved within. 
14. Pour your sweet chopped pistachios, almond slivers and zereshsk glaze atop.
15. Present, cut, serve... Enjoy... 😊

💛 Love & Light,

Lisa Alavi, Spark A Little Sunshine 💫