HOLIDAYS PERSIAN NEW YEAR CELEBRATES SPRINGTIME RENEWAL.
Persian New Year (Nowruz) marks the beginning of spring. Celebrated on March 21 each year, it marks a renewal of life.
It’s also a holiday that has strong ties to food, including the traditional ceremonial haft-sin table setting. In Farsi, haft-sin features seven items that begin with the letter sîn (“s” in the Persian alphabet), including sumac (somagh), which represents the sun; apple (sib), which symbolizes health and beauty; and dried jujubes (senjed) for love.
And for chef Hoss Zaré, the holiday is particularly special.
Zaré, who grew up in a large family in Tabriz, the capital of Iranian Azerbaijan, was forced to flee the country in 1986. Two years ago, Zaré (now a U.S. citizen) returned to his native country for the first time in nearly 30 years. Last year, he returned once more, this time to celebrate the new year.
When he’s not traveling to Iran to visit his family and get culinary inspiration, the chef, who sold his SoMa restaurant (the Fly Trap) last summer, has been working with Bon Appetit Management Company, traveling around the country training the company’s chefs in the fundamentals of Persian cuisine.
Persian New Year is a celebration that brings people together, says Zaré: “Everybody celebrates this day; it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from.”
During this visit, he used his cooking as a way to reconnect with his six sisters. “I was appearing before them as a new brother with a different look and different age and I wanted to show them who their brother is now and how I play with Persian food.”
In particular, Zaré chose to make tahdig for his family, a crisp rice dish that translates to “the bottom of the pot” in Persian. Rather than make a traditional version like his parents used to make, Zaré made a variation using whole fish.
It’s a beautiful interpretation. He cooks the fish in saffron-infused melted butter and tops it with citrus zest and fresh thyme. Then he adds al dente par-cooked basmati rice tossed with fresh dill, cooking it all togther until both the fish and rice are golden — a showstopper of a dish.
Another meaningful Nowruz dish that Zaré likes is a variation on a popular Azerbaijan dish, pomegranate soup with meatballs. Savory yet slightly sweet, intensely aromatic and full of fresh herbs, the soup represents growth, life and wealth. Or, as Zaré puts it: “All good wishes for spring.”