A while ago I promised to write a post about my favourite Persian meal and I’m now finally sitting down to write about it.

I grew up eating this dish, it’s my ‘if you were stuck in a deserted Island and you could only have one thing to eat’ dish…. did that make sense? Anyway my point is that I LOVE LOVE LOVE this dish but for some reason I don’t make it very often. Maybe it’s because I prefer it when my mum makes it… I may be a little very biased!

So what’s the name of this dish? It’s called Loobia Polo (other spelling variations which you may find are Loobia Polow or Lubia Polow). Loobia means green beans and Polo means rice. Rice is a BIG  staple in Persian cooking and most of our dishes are based around a sort of meat and vegetable stew that is eaten with rice. Loobia Polo is no different… it’s based on stew meat and green beans and is seasoned with a few different spices. Typically the stew is mixed in with rice, which is cooked very specifically…. Persians are known for their rice and the way they make it.

For this particular post I will be writing about how to make the meat part of Loobia Polo and leaving the rice out. Why? Well as you know from reading this blog I base most of my diet on Paleo and for a while I didn’t have rice at all. I slowly reintroduced it and found that I could do small amounts of white rice here and there but not all the time. So instead I decided to pair the meat and vegetable part of this dish with some garlic cauliflower mash.

If you are interested in knowing how to do the rice then leave me a comment in the comments section and I’ll see about doing a post on Persian rice at some point.

Green Bean Stew with Garlic Cauliflower Mash

Ingredients:

• 453grams/1lb beef stew meat (preferably grass-fed). Cut into smallish cubes.
• 453grams/1pound green beans (I actually used a bag of frozen haricot vert).
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped.
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste.
• 450grams/16ounces canned tomatoes.
• 1/4 tsp turmeric.
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon.
• Juice of one lemon.
• 1-2 Tbsp grass-fed ghee.
• 2 small heads of cauliflower washed, cored and cut into small pieces.
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder.
• Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.

Method:

If you’re using fresh green beans then wash them and cut into about 2cm/1inch pieces. If like me you use frozen beans then cook them on the stove according to packet instructions, drain and quickly place into an ice bath to stop them from cooking and then drain and cut into pieces. Set aside.

Heat a skillet on medium heat and add in your ghee. Add in your onion and cook for about 6-8 minutes or until translucent. Add in the turmeric and mix together.

Next add in the meat and brown. Throw in your green beans, if you’re using fresh beans then cook them for about 8 minutes before adding in the next ingredients, if using frozen beans then as soon as you add them into the skillet, add in your tomato paste, tomato sauce, lemon juice, sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper and cinnamon.

Bring the sauce to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer and cook covered for about 20 minutes. If you’re using fresh beans then you might have to cook it for a bit longer, just make sure the beans are nice and tender.

For the cauliflower mash add the cauliflower pieces into a large pot and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil and then lower the heat to low and cook for 15-20 minutes or until you can easily pierce the cauliflower with a fork.

Drain and add the cauliflower either into a food processor or a high-speed blender, add in your garlic powder and sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste. Mix until smooth.

Now I’d like you to share with me what is your favourite food? Has it changed from when you were a kid?