In the Kitchen with Tannaz Sassooni
It’s March 1st. I have been looking forward to today — each month we anticipate the ceremonial turning of the page on our beloved Clare Crespo calendar, but the particular joy of progressing from February to March reminds us we are within reach of the Spring Equinox, and finally at the tail end of winter. Once this post is complete, Beau and I will spend the day planning our garden and ordering seeds. We can smell Spring in the air: there are days of sunshine triggering snow melt, the occasional rainfall instead of snow, hints of birdsong — and of course the beginning of mud season, a mucky, slippery reality here in Maine as the ice thaws.
Created by the lovely Tannaz Sassooni, this Nowruz mealplan and recipes celebrate the changing seasons, fresh starts, and new beginnings. Born in Tehran to a Jewish family, Tannaz is a Los Angeles-based food writer who’s written for Lucky Peach, Thrillist, the Mash-Up Americans, LAist, and Shofar. She’s interested in exploring Los Angeles’ global culinary landscape and interviewing mothers and grandmothers from Iran for a regional Iranian Jewish cookbook. Follow Tannaz on Instagram: @tannazsassooni
Tannaz generously created this mealplan for us during our pandemic home delivery days to share a few of her favorite recipes for Nowruz. Nowruz is a festival that celebrates the start of spring and the new year. It's celebrated by people across Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Balkans. The name Nowruz means "new day" in Persian. I am posting this mealplan now, a few weeks early, with the hopes that this will give you time to prepare your own celebration of the Spring Equinox with these recipes.
Excerpt from Del be Del / دل به دل written by Tannaz Sassooni: You could say I’m a collector of Iranian Jewish recipes. For years, I’ve sat down with Jewish women from different cities in Iran, usually moms and grandmas, and asked them a couple hours’ worth of questions: What did they cook for each holiday? What was their Friday night meal? How did they break their Yom Kippur fast? What were the recipes that didn’t have a specific celebratory purpose, but existed only in Jewish households in their city? I’ve collected over a hundred recipes, some so tightly regional that I’d never heard of them before, in hopes of publishing a cookbook and preserving this beautiful foodway. In the meantime, Instagram (@tannazsassooni) is where I share these recipes and the stories behind them, along with the stories that come as they find new context in my hands and my life.
Setting the Table: Haftsinn
A beautiful and iconic Norwouz tradition, haftsinn is the still-life tableau table setting of seven ('haft') symbolic items that start with the Persian letter sinn:
somag (sumac) for the sunrise
senjed (oleaster fruit) for love
sabzeh (sprout) for renewal
seer (garlic) for health
seekeh (coins) for prosperity
seeb (apple) for beauty
“Iranians treat herbs not as a seasoning, but as a vegetable: Copious fresh herbs are the foundation of many Persian recipes. This is especially the case in spring, when Nowruz, the Persian New Year, pulls everyone out of their homes to go on picnics, where kookoo sabzi is always part of the spread. It’s a frittata-like dish of fresh greens bound by just enough egg to hold it together. Every family has its own combination of herbs. My family’s recipe starts with onions lightly caramelized with turmeric for subtle sweetness, basil for its aroma, and the unusual addition of romaine lettuce, which helps give the kookoo a fluffy texture.” – quote from Tannaz Sassoni’s contribution to the cookbook “All About Eggs” edited by Rachel Khong.
FEATURED RECIPES
Sabzi Polo (herbed rice) alongside Whole Fish with Seville Oranges
Sabzi Khordan (a platter of herbs, green onions, radishes, and more) and Borani Laboo (Beets with Yogurt)
Kookoo Sabzi – a frittata-like dish of fresh greens bound by just enough egg to hold it together.
Maman Violet’s Polo Shevid Baghali (Rice with Dill and Fava Beans) with Lamb Kebabs
Borani Esfenaj (Sautéed Spinach and Caramelized Onions with Yogurt and Saffron)
Badam Sookhte (Almonds tossed in a dark caramel infused with Saffron – watch Tannaz’s video HERE.)
A list of ingredients to cook these recipes
This is what we included in the box we delivered to doorsteps along with this mealplan, but you can go shop for your favorite local products wherever you live.
Suggested Reading List (by Tannaz)
New Food of Life by Najmieh Batmanglij
Taste of Persia: A Cook's Travels Through Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, and Kurdistan by Naomi Duguid
Saffron Tales: Recipes from the Persian Kitchen by Yasmine Khan
Bottom of the Pot by Naz Deravian
Book of Jewish Food by Claudia Roden