Think lubia polo, an aromatic dish of rice, green beans, and beautiful spiced meats; or ab-havij bastani, a luxurious ice cream number made with bright and refreshing carrot juice. But these aren’t your typical social media food snaps. The colorful Iranian dishes are spreading the word on #CookForIran, a campaign to amplify global awareness about human rights advocacy in the nation. “When people eat the food from a particular country, they really start to appreciate the culture and connect that food with the people in a more visceral way,” says Layla Yarjani, co-founder of the initiative. Try your hand at this crisp, chewy barbari flatbread recipe, Netflix’s Iron Chef judge Nilou Motamed’s favorite Iranian breakfast staple. And read my full story to learn more about how cooks around the world are making Iranian food as a form of resistance.
Another comforting classic? Cantonese white cut chicken with ginger scallion sauce—a recipe that always reminds fashion designer Peter Som of his beloved late grandmother. “When I try to imagine the sounds of her kitchen, I hear the whack of her Chinese cleaver as she broke down the chicken. Until I found her old recipe notebook, I hadn’t considered how large the dish loomed in my upbringing—or how much I’d missed it,” he writes. Read the latest installment in Som’s column Grandma’s Notebook, then make the chicken for dinner tonight.
Stay warm out there!
Megan Zhang Senior Editor, Culture & Trends |
