Layers of slow cooked lamb with green beans and tomato; lightly spiced and laced through turmeric rice. Served with a Shirazi salad garnish.
“I remembered eating rice, beans and tomato as a child growing up in Iran. When we returned to England I tried to replicate the dish. I collected books given to me on Persian food and read a book by comedian Shapi Khorsandi about her coming to the UK as a child. She described her mother making this dish with the lamb and the rice and the beans cooked in tomato and once she named it I went to look in the books I’d been given. There it was – Loobia Sabzi Polo. I made it, and made it again. I made it for parties and it kept coming out of the oven as people wanted more and more. I absolutely knew it had to be on Peggy’s menu. It is delicious and deeply satisfying. It doesn’t need a lot of meat, especially given the environmental climate, but it imparts a great flavour, the amino acids in the tomato tenderise the beans and the Lamb. Rice and beans together have long been known for their complimentary qualities. Ask any Caribbean or southern Indian cook. Turmeric is my addition giving an extra flavour and nutritious boost”
