Skip to main content

Borani-e Esfenaj

This refreshing Iranian salad has a pure and delicate flavor.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 4

Ingredients

1 pound spinach
1 cup thick strained Greek-style yogurt or plain whole-milk yogurt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3/4 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Wash the spinach and remove stems only if they are thick and hard. Drain the leaves and put them in a large pan. Cover and set over low heat until the leaves crumple into a soft mass. They steam in the water that clings to them in very few minutes.

    Step 2

    Drain, and when cool enough, squeeze out the excess water with your hands. Chop with a sharp knife and mix with the rest of the ingredients.

  2. Variation

    Step 3

    Another version calls for 1 large chopped onion sautéed in 1 tablespoon butter or vegetable oil.

Cover of Claudia Roden's The New Book of Middle Easter Food, featuring a blue filigree bowl filled with Meyer lemons and sprigs of mint.
Reprinted with permission from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, copyright © 2000 by Claudia Roden, published by Knopf. Buy the full book on Amazon or Bookshop.
Read More
Like potato pea chowder and green goddess grain bowls.
Thinly sliced and cooked hot and fast, pork tenderloin is the juicy, cook-quicking weeknight champion of this vegetable-heavy stir-fry.
Keep this easy frittata recipe on hand for quick breakfasts, impressive brunches, and fridge clean-out meals.
Turn humble onions into this thrifty yet luxe pasta dinner.
Chopped kimchi and soy sauce transform mellow tuna salad into your new favorite riff on the classic diner sandwich.
This lasagna soup delivers rich, baked-pasta flavor without an oven. Made with Italian sausage and spinach, it’s a fast, weeknight-friendly take on the classic.
Filberts, goobers, scaly bark nuts: Explore the world beyond almonds in this guide.
The most efficient method takes less than an hour, but you might not even need it.