noon berenji (Persian rice shortbread cookies)

Norooz (Persian New Year) happens during the spring equinox. A delicious way to celebrate this holiday is with noon berenji, shortbread cookies made with rice flour and a lot of butter. Even though they take a bit of time to prepare, they are quite simple to make.

Ingredients

• 1 egg yolk
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted (2 sticks)
• 2 cups rice flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1 tablespoon rosewater
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped pistachios (decoration)

Instructions

1. mix egg yolk, butter & sugar until creamy
2. add rice flour, cardamom & rosewater. Use enough flour so that the dough does not stick to your hands
3. put the dough in a resealable plastic bag & refrigerate for 2+ hours
   
4. remove dough from fridge & let stand for 1+ hour, or until soft enough to knead by hand
5. knead well by hand for 10 minutes
6. preheat oven to 350F & grease a baking sheet
7. roll dough out on a floured surface to about 1cm thickness
8. use small cookie cutters to cut out the cookies. Put them on the baking sheet close together (not touching)
9. decorate before baking. Use finely chopped pistachios, poppy seeds and/or a fork to create designs on the dough

   

10. bake for 15-20 minutes
11. EAT THEM!

Reflections

These cookies are delicate and great with tea. As for obtaining the ingredients, check out Mediterranean specialty stores, they will certainly carry rosewater and cardamom as well as everything else you will need for this recipe. As a second choice, try a natural foods store. It will be cheaper to find whole cardamom pods and grind them up yourself (use a mortar/pestle) and will give a fresher flavor to the cookies. You can use either bleached or unbleached rice flour, or a combination. We got this recipe from The Oregonian, but adapted it a bit with suggestions from Mel's mom. Tips from Mel's mom: add green food dye to the chopped pistachios for added festive decor, and use a floral shaped cookie cutter to best represent the traditional springtime Persian cookie.

zesty lemon tatos

These are kind of like fries, but far superior (and healthier). These baked potato chunks can be a tasty snack, side dish, or main dish and are simply made.

Ingredients

• 4 potatoes
• 1 lemon
• a few springs of rosemary
• olive oil (enough to cover potato pieces)
  
  

Instructions

1. preheat oven to 350
2. wash & chop up potatoes into bite-size chunks. put 'em in a bowl
   
3. zest the lemon and juice it over the potatoes (watch for seeds)
4. finely chop rosemary, add to potatoes
5. drizzle olive oil generously over the mix
6. mix everything together in the bowl until potatoes are evenly coated
7. spread the potatoes evenly on a baking sheet
   
   
   
8. bake for 21 minutes, flip potatoes & return to oven for another 16 minutes
9. IMPORTANT: k, go eat them.

Reflections

The first time we crafted these zingy potatoes, we couldn't taste the lemon very well, besides the pieces of lemon zest. Experiment for the future: soak the potato pieces in the lemon juice longer before baking them, or just use more lemon. Also, more rosemary and/or other complimentary spices. Maisha wants to try it with pomegranate sauce instead of lemon some time.