Borani esfanaj — Irani for spinach and yogurt — is a traditional dish enjoyed all over the Mediterranean and the Middle East — Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Greece, Iran, Syria, Turkey, I could keep going. And so can the variations. Regions change up the herbs and the proportions. Some serve it as an appetizer, others as a dip, a salad or even a chilled soup.
In every iteration, borani esfanaj is a luscious summer refresher. The one — well, really two — constants — are spinach and yogurt. Agh, the yogurt. For years, that meant it was far from veganfriendly, but now, thanks to quality commercial plantbased yogurt, it’s a dish we can all enjoy. Even royalty.
Jump to the recipe or stick around for the legend
According to legend, once upon a time, there was an Irani princess who was wise, kind, beautiful, all the things you want in a princess. The entire kingdom adored her, and vied for . So all the chefs decided to do a sort of Iron Chef competition, and create dishes that would delight her. The chefs were all very proud of their creations, some, naturally, quite elaborate — you want to impress a princess. She tasted them all and praised them all. But her favorite was this spinach and yogurt dish. Like I said, smart princess.
Borani esfanaj is creamy, herbacious, cool, and green, and incredibly good for you, besides. The spinach offers iron, sure, but also off-the-charts amounts of folate, vitamins A and K. The plantbased yogurt offers probiotic body support by way of fermentation. It’s also good for the planet. It calls for herb stems — you know, the bits you usually throw out. You get more flavor, the planet gets less waste.
How to make:
- Line a strainer with cheesecloth and set strainer over a bowl.
- Pour plantbased yogurt into the strainer. and allow excess liquid to drain — at least 1 hour.
- Place spinach leaves in a large colander. Pour a kettle of boiling water over the spinach to blanch. Spinach will reduce to a third its original size. Set aside to drain and cool.
- In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic, and sauté until vegetables are softened, translucent and fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside.
- Squeeze out all the water in the spinach.
- Place spinach in a food processor, and pulse a few times, until coarsely chopped.
- Add parsley and mint stems, plus the sautéed onions and garlic, and pulse again.
- Spoon in the yogurt and process lightly, so there’s still bright flecks of green.
- Season with sea salt.
- Cover and chill for at least an hour to let flavors deepen and meld.
- Garnish with pomegranate seeds, chopped pistachios, mint and parsley leaves, if desired.Serve with pita or other flatbread and seasonal vegetables.
Tips, Substitutions, and Serving Suggestions
- This recipe calls for blanching the spinach — plunging the greens into boiling water to keep the color bright and the nutrients intact. I’ve shown a quicker, tidier way to do it, by placing greens in a colander and pouring boiling water over them.
- This quick and creamy dip uses the stems from herbs— the bits you usually throw away — for zero waste and big flavor.
- I love the fresh hint of mint here, but dil is often used instead. Try it both ways.
- Serve as starter, with flatbread and fresh vegetables, like sliced cucumber, carrots, radish and fennel and celery.
- Serve as a salad dolloped over more spinach or other fresh, tender greens.
- Not into spinach? Another Irani version uses thinly sliced cucumber. instead of spinach.
- Cucumber, yogurt and garlic make up tzatziki, the refreshing Greek sauce.
- Add more yogurt and serve as a chilled soup
Borani Esfanaj —Middle Eastern Spinach and Yogurt
Ingredients
- 2 cups plain unsweetened plain plantbased yogurt preferably full fat — I like Kite Hill
- 1 pound spinach
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion chopped (about 2 cups)
- 3 cloves garlic chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
- 1/2 bunch of parsley — just the stems 1/2 cup
- 1/2 bunch mint — just the stems 1/2 cup
- sea salt
optional garnish:
- pomegranate seeds
- pistachios
Instructions
- Line a strainer with cheesecloth and set strainer over a bowl.
- Pour plantbased yogurt into the strainer. and allow excess liquid to drain — at least 1 hour
- Place spinach leaves in a large colander. Pour a kettle of boiling water over the spinach to blanch. Spinach will reduce to a third its original size. Set aside to drain and cool.
- In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic, and sauté until vegetables are softened, translucent and fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside
- Squeeze out all the water in the spinach.
- Place spinach in a food processor, and pulse a few times, until coarsely chopped.
- Add parsley and mint stems, plus the sautéed onions and garlic, and pulse again.
- Spoon in the yogurt and process lightly, so there’s still bright flecks of green.
- Season with sea salt.
- Cover and chill for at least an hour to let flavors deepen and meld.
- Garnish with pomegranate seeds, chopped pistachios, mint and parsley leaves, if desired.
- Serve with pita or other flatbread and seasonal vegetables.
More Global Dips and Apps
- Minty spring pea purée from my award-winning book, Feeding the Hungry Ghost: Life, Faith and What to Eat for Dinner, Try the dip, buy the book.
- Pumpkin Talkari, Caribbean curried pumpkin dip
- Nduja, the vegan version of the Calabrian classic with umami from tomato, not pork
- Hari chutney, mint and chile brighten this chutney that’s great on everything, courtesy of Crackerman, my friend Setfan Uch.
- Pesto di Trapani isn’t green — it’s a rich tomatoey-almondy concoction I learned about from fellow kitchen waste avenger, Eugenia Bone, well, actually her father.
- Green goodness, an all-time favorite combo of beans, greens, garlic, lemon, and olive oil.
- Or keep the beans and greens separate, as they do in this dish from Puglia
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