Cardamom and Tea

sabzi khordan

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Sabzi khordan isn’t really a “recipe” in the traditional sense. It’s more like a joyful gathering of crisp herbs, cheese, and bread—a choose-your-own-adventure platter that’s as easy to prepare as it is to devour.

It’s the appetizer you serve when dinner isn’t quite ready yet. It’s the plate of extras that makes the main course extra-special. It’s tradition, comfort, and freshness all rolled into one bite.

Whether you’re hosting a dinner party or just want to romanticize your Tuesday lunch, sabzi khordan shows up—and it does so with very little effort on your part. Jump to the recipe (with vegan options) if you’re ready to go, or read on for a bit more know-how.

herbs in a bowl to make sabzi khordan
herbs

How to wash and store herbs for sabzi khordan

How to wash herbs:

Fill a large bowl with cold water, add de-stemmed herbs, and swish gently. Push the herbs to one side, pour out the water, refill, and repeat. On the last swish, lift the herbs out rather than using a strainer, leaving any remaining gritty bits behind, then dry them using a towel or salad spinner.

To use a towel: roll them up loosely, hold the roll by the ends, and give it a few shakes up and down.

How to store herbs:

First, discard any tattered bits because these will cause everything to go bad faster. Place whole, unchopped herbs in a clean, damp kitchen towel and place in a sealed container. If the towel you used to dry them is sopping wet, wring it out very well first—it should only be damp.

Stored this way, herbs can last for days (sometimes even weeks), depending on their type and freshness. I’ve kept parsley this way for well over a week. Delicate ones like mint and dill wilt and rot faster than sturdier ones like parsley, so keep them separately if you think you’ll use them at different rates.

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leafy herbs
leafy herbs

What is sabzi khordan, culturally?

In Persian cuisine, sabzi khordan is more than a side dish—it’s a ritual of hospitality. Served at nearly every meal, especially alongside bread and cheese, it’s a symbol of abundance, freshness, and care. It turns simple ingredients into something communal: a platter everyone reaches into, building bites to their taste.

How to instruct guests

If your guests aren’t familiar with sabzi khordan, they’ll almost always take too little of the herbs. Be proactive and give them a little spiel before digging in:

“Grab a whole handful of herbs—more than you think—then wrap it up in some bread with a bit of cheese, maybe a walnut or radish. The herbs are meant to be substantive, not just a garnish.”

You can even demo a bite yourself, and assure everyone you’re not exaggerating.

Most newbies need to understand how generous the portions should be. But going forward, everyone gets to decide how they want to enjoy the platter, so don’t belabor the point.

sabzi khordan
sabzi khordan

A note on styling the tray

Don’t worry about overthinking this one. It’s impossible to make an unattractive sabzi khordan tray. But when I have a little extra time, sometimes I like to make a wreath out of the herbs, with the feta in the center. This is completely unnecessary and not exactly traditional, but it’s a fun presentation.

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Sabzi Khordan

sabzi khordan
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5 from 2 reviews

Ingredients

Essential:

  • Any combination of fresh cilantro, parsley, mint, basil, or dill (about 3 bunches total)
  • One 8 oz [225 g] block of feta -or- extra virgin olive oil*
  • 8 pitas, lawash (the soft kind, not crackers), or another soft flatbread
  • Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Optional:

  • Marinated beets
  • Sliced radishes
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Walnuts
  • Cucumber spears
  • Limes
  • Additional herbs like purslane, tarragon, watercress, or fenugreek

Instructions

  1. After washing and drying the herbs, remove any large stems and arrange the herbs on a plate (in a big pile with room to the side, or in a wreath with room in the center for the feta). Place the feta, marinated beets, radishes, or tomatoes on the plate, if using. If you’re not using feta, drizzle the herbs with a little olive oil.
  2. To eat, take a small piece of pita, place a little piece of feta on it, and pile on the herbs. Give these instructions to guests so they know that they should not be shy with the herbs.

Notes

*You could also alternatively substitute your favorite mild vegan cheese (e.g., a vegan cream cheese or vegan mozzarella)

Video note: You can find the video in the introduction to this blog post. If you don’t see it after scrolling up, please disable ad block and reload the page.

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Easy Focaccia (with any toppings)

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If you’ve got flour, yeast, olive oil, and salt, then you’ve got focaccia! But there’s no reason not to add a little something extra to it. This recipe has you covered, whether you want to bake a sheet of focaccia with toppings or take it easy with a plain sheet.

Half a jar of pesto? Swirl it in! Frozen veggies languishing in the freezer? Throw those on too!

Or if you want to keep it simple and make a sheet with just sea salt, that will work great. Anything goes!

Jump to the recipe + video if you’re ready to bake, or read on for lots ideas to make focaccia with toppings.

Option 1: naked focaccia!

You can always bake a naked sheet of focaccia with just a sprinkling of sea salt (perhaps with some garlic and/or some herbs). It’s totally up to you!

Option 2: improvise with your focaccia toppings

If you’re feeling adventurous, choose a few of the following toppings:

Herbs for focaccia

Leafy herbs (add more):
Cilantro
Dill
Parsley
Chives
Basil

Woody herbs (add less)
Thyme
Rosemary
Sage
Oregano

Flavor-boosters

Jammy caramelized onions
Anchovies
Thinly sliced onion
Capers
Olives
Crumbled blue cheese
Red pepper flakes (just a big pinch)

Produce

Summer
Corn kernels
Halved cherry tomatoes
Thinly sliced zucchini/summer squash
Quartered or sliced figs
Red or black seedless grapes
Char-roasted and peeled peppers

Fall
Okra sliced lengthwise
Parcooked thinly sliced squash or pumpkin
Small broccoli or cauliflower florets
Roasted and peeled chestnuts

Winter
Thinly sliced fennel or leeks
Parcooked thinly sliced squash or pumpkin
Roasted and peeled chestnuts

Spring
Small broccoli or cauliflower florets
Asparagus
Peas

Anytime
Frozen corn or peas
Oil-preserved tomatoes and red peppers
Sliced mushrooms

A note on pesto as a mix-in:

pesto

Substituting pesto is tricky because it has a lot of flavor but also a lot of oil. Use it in place of the herbs, but be sure to also cut back on the olive oil in the focaccia dough to compensate for the extra richness.

Simply replace the herbs with ½ cup [115 g] pesto, and cut the oil in the dough back from ⅓ cup [70 g] to ¼ cup [50 g].

Seasonal focaccia with toppings

focaccia with tomatoes and anchovies, shown from overhead
focaccia with grapes, shown from overhead
focaccia with caramelized onions and black olives, shown from above
focaccia with asparagus, parsley, and capers, shown from overhead

Here are my 4 favorite seasonal combinations (left to right):

Summer: anchovy, tomato, basil
Fall: grape, blue cheese, thyme
Winter: black olive, jammy onion, rosemary
Spring: asparagus, caper, onion, parsley

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Easy Focaccia (with any toppings + a video)

a grid of 4 focaccia
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5 from 3 reviews

Ingredients

For the focaccia dough

  • 5½ cups [715 g] all-purpose flour*
  • 2¼ tsp [13 g] salt
  • 2½ tsp [8 g] instant yeast
  • ⅓ cup [70 g] extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 cups [470 g] water, at room temperature
  • Herbs (optional, see list): ¾ cup [30 g] chopped fresh** leafy herbs, or 2 to 4 Tbsp [10 g] chopped fresh woody herbs

For the topping

  • 4 Tbsp [55 g] extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 to 2 cups [200 g] prepped seasonal produce (optional! see list)
  • ¼ to ½ cup [30 to 45 g] flavor boosters (optional! see list)
  • Flaky salt
  • Fresh herbs, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

  1. Make the dough: Combine the flour, salt, yeast, oil, water, and herbs (if using) in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment (or large mixing bowl). Mix together on low (or using your hand in the bowl if you don’t have a stand mixer) until it forms a lumpy dough and then increase the speed to medium. Knead with the hook for about 3 minutes, just until it smooths out quite a lot and starts to look stringy instead of lumpy (about 5 minutes mixing by hand). The dough should be very wet and sticky but not soupy.
  2. Let it rise: Cover and place the bowl of dough at room temperature. You can let it rise overnight or quickly. To do it overnight, let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes, then place in the fridge overnight (up to 36 hours). If you do it quickly, let it rise at room temperature for a total of about 60 minutes, until doubled in size.
  3. Shape the focaccia: Spread out about 1 Tbsp of the olive oil on an 18 by 13 in [46 by 33 cm] rimmed baking sheet. Move the dough to the pan, bottom-side up, and drizzle on 1 Tbsp of the oil. Use the pads of your fingers to work the dough out into a flat rectangle. Leave little dimples as you go, digging your fingers almost all the way to the baking sheet below, but try not to pop any big visible bubbles. Then fold into thirds like a trifold pamphlet and flip it so the overlapping flaps are on the bottom.
  4. Let rest at room temperature for about 5 minutes. Once it’s rested, top with another 1 Tbsp of the oil and use the pads of your fingers to work it out into a larger rectangle again.
  5. Repeat the folding one more time, let it rest for 5 more minutes, and work the dough out into a larger rectangle again. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp of olive oil as well as the sliced garlic, and this time use the pads of your fingers to work the rectangle all the way out to the edges of the baking sheet.
  6. Top it with the seasonal produce and flavor boosters (if using), pushing them down a little to embed them in the dough, and sprinkle on a little sea salt and extra herbs, if desired.
  7. Let proof, uncovered, at room temperature for 1 hour, until it’s got a few big air bubbles and looks noticeably larger.
  8. Preheat the oven to 425°F [220°C] when the dough is almost done proofing.
  9. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the top is golden brown and it’s cooked through (200°F [93°C] internal temperature). Let cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Notes

* You can alternatively use bread flour or whole wheat flour. I’ve even used whole wheat pastry flour, which yields a more tender (yet still chewy) crumb.

** You can substitute a smaller amount of dried herbs if you don’t have fresh. Or omit the herbs entirely!

Storage: After completely cooled, store sealed at room temperature for 1 day, and freeze whatever you don’t plan to eat right away (bread keeps much better in the freezer than in the refrigerator or at room temperature).

Pesto: You can use pesto it in place of the herbs, but be sure to also cut back on the olive oil in the focaccia dough to compensate for the extra richness. Simply replace the herbs with ½ cup [115 g] pesto, and cut the oil in the dough back from ⅓ cup [70 g] to ¼ cup [50 g].

Video note: You can find the video in the introduction to this blog post. If you don’t see it after scrolling up, please disable ad block and reload the page.

find us on instagram and let us know what you made!

Psst… by the way, I wrote a whole cookbook of adaptable recipes like this one. It’s called A Dish for All Seasons!

Check it out for adaptable base recipes + ideas for seasonal (and evergreen!) variations