Fancy a taste of the exotic from the comfort of your own kitchen? With London on lockdown, the next best thing is to order incredible Iranian food with Nutshell at Home. You’ll be treated to a fabulous feast which arrives beautifully packed, and once open it will transport you to the very heart of Persian cuisine.
Typical Iranian food
With Iranian recipes passed down through the generations, and having evolved over the years into its own distinctive culinary culture, you’ll find influences from Iran’s neighbouring regions from Turkey to Levantine and Southern Asian flourishes. Rice, meat, fish and veg are all common, while fruits, herbs, nuts and spices take the tastebuds on a tasty journey which is filled with surprises!
Nutshell
Owners Mohammad and Marwa want you to discover the true flavours of Iran, and while they’d love to welcome you to their wonderful restaurant for the full experience, while we’re in lockdown, Nutshell at Home offers that restaurant quality, with just a little bit of prep required from you. You can book to eat at the Nutshell restaurant from 17th May.
What do you get in the Nutshell at Home box?
You’ll receive several very clearly marked bags and tubs with everything you’re going to need to cook up a delicious dinner. You’ll get packets containing Ranginak Tart, Tahdig, pots of everything from tapenade garnish to pistachio powder, bread, golden beetroot puree, mushroom kotlets and the main event – the Mazandarani lamb which smells amazing.
Cooking Nutshell at Home
There’s very little prep required because literally everything has been done for you! With a sharing concept at its heart, the mezze style dishes can be brought out together (or if you’re like us, as and when they’re ready!)
With the beetroot salad and olive tapenade both served cold, we got to work on these dishes first. Wanting to make sure the finished result did Nutshell justice, I did google a few photos of how these plates should be presented, but mainly, it was just about having fun and bringing out my inner chef! After spreading the tapenade from the sealed plastic bag onto the plate, I decorated with a drizzle of the pomegranate molasses and garnished with the pomegranates for that burst of colour, along with the radishes and walnut.
The beetroot salad was as easy as spooning whipped feta into a bowl, swirling in the beetroot puree and decorating with the beetroot and endive leaves. I was pretty impressed with my first time attempt!
The tahdig (Persian rice) needed heating for just 10 minutes, and we served with a good dollop of date yoghurt (which tasted incredible.)
The Mazandarani lamb which is the centre piece to this beautiful mezze, is a lamb rump which has already been marinated in a tonne of gorgeous herbs and spices like cloves, turmeric, black pepper and red sunak. The aromas while it’s roasting in the oven are something else! After cooking for 10-12 minutes (or at little longer if you like it more well done), it’s important to rest it for five minutes, which is your perfect opportunity to get the rest of the mezze on the table, including the mushroom kotlets and the warm bread which take literally minutes to heat up.
The finishing touches to the lamb include spooning the apricot puree onto a large plate and resting the lamb on top. Finish with a drizzle of saffron tomato salsa and a sprinkling of raisins.
The Nutshell Dessert
After such a taste sensation, we were too full to try the dessert, but managed the ranginak the next day. This traditional Iranian dessert is traditionally served with tea and is made from dates, walnuts, butter, flour and those gorgeous spices that conjure up the magical Middle East. Sprinkled with pistachio powder with clotted cream on top, this was heavenly – buttery, sweet and oh so indulgent. The family and I were super impressed with the amount of flavours packed into every one of these dishes. For a quick, easy and special dinner, Nutshell at Home is the way to go. Order yours here.
To read our reviews of other meal kits at home, click here.
