Episode 37: Summer Persian Party Foods

In Episode #37, co-hosts Beata and Bita share strategies of serving foods in summer gatherings now that we are starting to come out of the pandemic, with respect to families with unvaccinated members or kids. Food is normally served family-style in large shared plates and platters in traditional Persian food culture and cuisine when entertaining. Beata and Bita share personal tips and strategies to make Persian foods more individualized and accessible to outdoor patio or picnic gatherings.

Individual servings of traditional Persian dishes covered in this episode include:

Tahchin bites – tahchin prepared and baked in cupcake molds/ muffin tins
For more information on tahchin, refer to our episode #30
Persian corn
Persian street style corn (in Farsi balal) – grilled to a char, then dipped in salt water
For a Persian version of Mexican street corn, try serving with feta cheese and sumac spice
Salad Olivier
Scooped and served in a ball shape on leaf lettuce (gem lettuce leaf)
Served in individual ball shapes and served in cupcake liners, muffin liners
Scooped into pita or lavash bread and rolled up into roll sandwiches and served on a platter
More info in episode #24
Fruit kebabs
Hard melon such as cantaloupe or honeydew – can cut into shapes using shape cutters, cookie cutters
Strawberries
Grapes
Mini marshmallows as a treat and to entice picky eaters to eat more fruit
Deconstructed Salad shirazi
Caprese salad skewer style – experiment with tomato, Persian cucumber, feta. Can garnish with mint leaves, drizzle with lemon or lime juice and salt
Persian wafer ice cream sandwiches
Refer to our episode #34 for more ice cream serving tips and strategies
Additional recipes referenced in The Persian Appetizers episode #18:
Jeweled cinnamon rolls
Koo koo bites
Pomegranate glazed chicken wings
Meatballs with fesenjoon sauce

Ask the Beats!

This week Bita asks Beata, how do you handle when guests have special dietary needs such as food sensitivities, allergies, or are vegetarian?

Make at least one dish that accommodates food restriction
Display a special party day menu including ingredients and symbols such as g-f, dairy-free, contains nuts, vegetarian, etc.

Resources and recipes from this episode:

Tahchin: