Contemporary Persian Cooking

[Chef Seb]

Hello Don, and happy holidays to all of you foodies..

2013 has definetly been the best year for my family and I. I feel like we are finally where we want to be as far as Amoo's menu goes.

After speaking to Mr. Rockwell, I have decided to start a thread which will cover some of the cookings that we do here at Amoo's. The saffron steamed squash has been the biggest hit this year. Back in September, i thought it'd be a good idea to serve several seasonal dishes. And trying to figure out how to design a dish thats Persian but yet its suitable for American holiday season was definetly a challenging task. Well for one, I am bored, and just bored with traditional Persian cuisine. Its always meat on top of rice. Every single Persian restauarant in DC Metro area besides Amoo's, serves almost exactly the same thing. So, with that being said, I want to expand the Persian cuisine through innovation and creativity. And just kabob and rice are not going to cut it.

Going back to seasonal items.. I have always loved how the Americans have this seasonal addiction to pumpkins, squash, and cinnamon. Therefore, i thought it would be a great idea to collaborate some Persian and American favorites.

At Amoo's we have about nine choices of slow braised meat stews that we offer. And Don Rockwell can definetly vouche for how good these stews are!! ;-)

My favorite stew is our pumpkin braised chicken stew, which is chicken breast fillet thats slowly braised in a tangy pumpkin and citrus sauce its relitively sweet, nothing overwhelming, but it is flavorful and a perfect stew for those cold temperture days, and its usually served over saffron steamed rice. But then i thought, ok here we go again, meat over rice!!! While i was peeling a small pumpkin to make the stew with, a light bulb turned on in my head. I realized that pumpkins and squash have a texture of potatoes, meaning that they can be steamed and filled. This is where I ran across the street over to the Safeway in a hurry and full of excitement. I bought a huge acorn squash and returned to Amoo's kitchen. I asked my father how he thought would be the best way to steam it and with his help I learned how to make the best saffron steamed stuffed squash. We offer 2 types of squash, Acorn and butternut, which both can be filled with any of our stews. This dish will be served until December 31st. After then, we will not be serving it until September of 2014. Come in and try this wonderful, comforting holiday favorite before its all gone..

Looking forward to having you all at my tables..

Chef Seb

[DonRocks]

We offer 2 types of squash, Acorn and butternut, which both can be filled with any of our stews. This dish will be served until December 31st. After then, we will not be serving it until September of 2014. Come in and try this wonderful, comforting holiday favorite before its all gone..

I noticed Seb was posting all sorts of creations on Facebook, and I advised him he needed a signature dish, and that his whole stuffed squash would be perfect because 1) nobody else is doing it, 2) it's beautiful, and 3) it's healthy and delicious. I really think he should play up this aspect of Amoo's Kabob - I've had one of these and *loved* it.

[Chef Seb]

In the past few weeks, i have found this intense interest towrds edible blossoms and flowers. So I have been doing a lot of research on how to obtain some of the best edible flower blooms and edible orchids. One of my favorite has been the Oriental Lilies! And since Amoo's stews can sometime steer towards the sweet side, i thought stuffing the lilies with our pomegranate braised chicken stew was a great combination, and lord be hold, i was right.

I present to you the Pomegranate braised chicken served inside of brown sugar cinnamon crusted edible oriental lilies, served with a side of Amoo's saffron rice...

Bon Appetite!!

[Chef Seb]

Good evening everyone,

I remember growing up, my mom would make my siblings and I this awesome dish called "Choghandar" which in Farsi means hot beets. This was one of my favorites because my mom only cooked it during the cold days of winter. She slow roasted them for hours so they'd be nicely tender. The idea behind this dish is that you're supposed to eat the beets while they are hot and fresh right out of the oven. Back then we only ate them with melted feta cheese. So simple but yet so delicious.

In the past few days of severe cold weather, all I have thought about is eating hot beets. So this morning while shopping for produce, i ran across these wonderful fresh organic beets that I thought would be ideal for roasting. But as i try with all my dishes, I did not want to just make a boring beet dish, but rather add some additional flavors that i thought would go very well with them.

Today I served the hot beet salad for the first time at Amoo's and we actually sold quite a few. I got great feedback from everyone who tried it.

Im happy to introduce "Choghandar Salad" Hot Beet Salad

Pistachio and goat feta cheese crusted roasted beet

served on a bed of sauteed basil and cherry tomatoes, garnished with sno pea shoots

We will be serving this dish for the next few days. Come in and try this wonderful winter dish.

See you at Amoo's

-Chef Seb

[Barbara]

Chef Seb,

I haven't been to your restaurant--I don't have a car, so usually don't go the burbs for meals--but I did read this last year and then passed it on to Nena:

http://www.amazon.com/Pomegranate-Soup-Novel-Marsha-Mehran/dp/0812972481/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389196698&sr=1-1&keywords=pomegranate+soup

Your pictures and discussions of Persian food are very tempting. I think we are going to have to try and make some of the recipes that are included in the book.

[Chef Seb]

About 2 years ago, I made a Pomegranate soup that was served at the restaurant. People loved it but at the time Amoo's hadn't gotten the hype that it has now and therefore it wasnt a hit.

But after reading Barbara's post, I think I am inspired to do so.

Wow, thank you for your post Barbara!!