As a part of my healing journey and to incorporate more nutrient dense food into my diet I have been cooking quite a lot of organ meat dishes lately. Organ meats are nutritional powerhouses and heart in particular is a good source of iron, zinc, selenium, vitamin A and B vitamins. But above all heart is a concentrated source of CoQ10, a vital source of energy production and prevention of oxidative stress. People with chronic health conditions are often deficient in CoQ10 and this is one of the main reasons I began to include heart in my diet! Heart is technically a muscle and has a very low fat content, so the key to have a tender stew is to slow cook it over low heat for a longer time. We really love the flavours of this stew and the texture of the heart is very similar to beef meat.

Ingredients:

2 Lbs. Lamb or Beef heart (I prefer lamb, but can’t always find local grass-fed ones!)
2 Medium Shallots (finely chopped, optional, I don’t eat shallot/onions myself!)
3 Carrots (chopped)
3 Celery Stalks (chopped)
1-2 Cup chopped Greens (Spinach, Chard and/or Kale)
2 Tbsp. Red Palm Oil
2 Tsp.Tumeric
2 Tsp. Ginger Powder
2 Tsp. Ground Coriander Seed
1-1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon
1 Tsp. ground Cumin
1 Tsp. ground Cardamom
2 Tsp. Herbes de Provence
2 Bay Leaves
Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper to taste
1 Cup Bone Broth (thick and gelled)
1/2 Cup Organic Red Wine
1/4 Cup Finely Chopped Fresh Parsely (optional)

Method:

1. Insert knife into cavity of the heart and cut into two halves. Remove the large blood vessels and cut heart muscle into bite sized (3/4″-1″) cubes.

2. Heat the oil into a large pot. Add the chopped celery and carrots and sauté on medium heat for about 5 minutes.

3. Add the heart pieces, spices, herbs, salt and pepper to the pot. Stir well to coat everything and saute for another 5-10 mintues until the heart cubes are slightly browned.

4. Add the wine and broth and stir well to deglaze the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, turn down the heat, cover the pot and cook for 5-6 hours (lamb heart is more tender and takes less time to cook compared to beef) over low-medium heat until the heart is tender. I usually use a cast iron pot and put the pot in the oven at 325F, but you can also cook it on the stove-top.

5. Add the chopped greens after turning off the heat. Taste and add more salt and peppet if needed. If you like add the chopped parsley before serving.
Enjoy! 🙂

Serves 6-8.

Celery stew (Khoresht-e-Karafs) has been one of my favourite Iranian dishes since my childhood. I love the aroma of the herbs and celery, it smells so fresh and comforting! A few notes I would like to add: 1. Celery is the star of this dish, so buy organic (and local when in season) if you can since it has a lot more falvour and I find it really makes this dish taste much better. 2. Some add yellow split peas to this dish but since I can’t have legumes or beans I don’t add it to mine. 3. Also, if you like you can sauté one chopped onion and a clove of garlic before adding the chicken, again I’m avoiding onion and garlic so I don’t have it in my recipe.

Ingredients

3-4 (about 2 pounds) Chicken Breast Halves (I use bone-in, skinless)

2 Heads of (preferably organic) Celery (about 2 pounds), cut into 1-inch pieces
(finely chop the green leafy parts as well, they have a lot of flavour!)

2 Bunches of Parsley (finely chopped)

1 Bunch Mint (finely chopped)  – you can use 1-2 Tbsp dried mint instead if you don’t have fresh mint

1 Tbsp. Red Palm Oil (or ghee or coconut oil)

1/2 Tsp. turmeric

1 Tsp. Ginger Powder

1 Tsp. Ground Coriander Seed

1/4 Tsp. Cinnamon

2 Tsp. Powdered Dry Sour Grape (or unripe grape, “Ghooreh” in Farsi)

1/8 Tsp. Powdered Saffron

4 Cups Homemade Bone (or chicken) Broth (you can use water but broth has a lot more flavour and is more nutritious)

Juice of 1/2-1 Lime (can be adjusted to your liking)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Method

1. Cut the chicken breasts into small pieces (1.5 – 2 inch)

2. In a large pot, heat the oil, add the chicken and brown the meat on all sides over medium-high heat. Add the spices, salt (I use around 1 Tsp but my homemade bone broth has no salt, so start with less and taste and adjust to your liking) and pepper. Stir to coat the chicken with spices and cook for about 15 mins.

3. Add the chopped celery, parsley, and mint and stir well. Saute for another 10 mins over medium heat.

4. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and gently simmer for about an hour and a half.

5. Turn off the heat once the stew is cooked, add the fresh lime juice and more salt if needed. Serve hot with some basmati rice if you like. Enjoy!

Serves 6-8.

This is such a simple and quick recipe to prepare when you get home late after work! You only need a few basic ingredients to make this flavourful and healthy dish in less than 30 minutes! I use peeled, deveined, tail-on frozen sustainably farmed white shrimps. I sometimes add some greens (baby spinach, baby kale, baby chard, etc.) at the very end before adding the lime juice and coriander. I serve this dish with a side of saffron Basmati rice pilaf and a large green salad.

Ingredients
1 Lb. (about 30 Large) Shrimps
2 Tbsp Ghee (or coconut oil)
2 Medium Carrots (or 4 small)
3 Celery Stalks
3/4 Cup Bone (or Chicken) Broth (I use homemade bone broth)
1 Tsp. Ground Dry Ginger
1/2 Tsp Ground Coriander
1/2 Tsp. Tumeric
1/4 Tsp Ground Saffron
Zest and Juice of 1 Lime
1/4 Cup Finely Chopped Coriander
Pink Himalayan Salt (I use about 1/2 Tsp) AND Freshly Ground Pepper (to taste)

Lunch at work!

Method

1. Wash and finely dice carrots and celery stalks.

2. Heat the ghee to a large skillet and sauté the carrots and celery. After 2 mins add the spices, salt, pepper, and lime zest and stir well. Sauté for another 2 min, then add the broth and stir. Simmer on medium-high heat for about 10-15 minutes or until the veggies are soft and the sauce starts to thicken.

3. Add the shrimps to the simmering sauce and cover the skillet until the shrimps are cooked (Note. I use frozen shrimps right from the freezer and don’t thaw them ahead of time!). The shrimps are cooked as soon as they curl up and turn pink, don’t over-cook them!

4. Turn off the heat, add the lime juice and finely chopped coriander and stir well. Taste and add more salt and pepper if desired. Serve hot and enjoy!

Serves 3-4.