Silk Road: Dill & Persian Lime Saag Paneer
Make it the LXV way
Spice blend
Silk Road Spice Blend
Wine pairing
2023 Blanc De Franc
100% Cabernet Franc. A rare white expression of the Cabernet Franc grape — tropical, textured, and utterly unique.
Wine pairing
2023 Reserve Cabernet Franc
100% Cabernet Franc from Portico Hills Vineyard, Santa Barbara County. 250 cases. At 1.2 acres, one of the smallest blocks in the portfolio — own-rooted on a steep, nearly 25% grade, yielding a Franc…
Most saag paneer is a heavy, one-note green. Silk Road — basil, dill, limu omani, black pepper, garlic, mustard powder — pushes it toward the Persian side of the Silk Road, and the dried lime keeps the greens tasting bright instead of stewed. Blanching and shocking the spinach before it ever meets the pan is what preserves that electric color. High acid, herbal lift, restrained fruit: this is Cab Franc's dish in both its white and red expressions.
Ingredients
- 14 oz paneer, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 lb mature spinach, stemmed
- 1 bunch mustard greens or lacinato kale, stemmed
- 1/2 cup dill fronds, plus more to finish
- 2 green chilies
- 3 tbsp ghee, divided
- 1 yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tbsp LXV Silk Road Spice Blend
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 1/4 tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
- 1/3 cup heavy cream or full-fat yogurt
- Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
- A dried Persian lime (limu omani), pierced, optional but excellent
Method
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Blanch the spinach and mustard greens 45 seconds, then plunge them straight into ice water. Drain and squeeze out as much water as you can.
- Blend the squeezed greens with the dill and green chilies into a coarse purée — leave some texture. Set aside.
- Heat 1 tbsp of the ghee in a wide pan over medium-high and sear the paneer cubes on two sides until golden, about 3 minutes total. Move them to a bowl of warm salted water so they stay soft.
- Add the remaining 2 tbsp ghee to the pan. Cook the onion 8 minutes until soft and lightly golden.
- Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry 1 minute, then the LXV Silk Road Spice Blend and turmeric, toasting 30 seconds.
- Add the pierced dried lime if using, along with 1/4 cup water, and simmer 3 minutes to draw out its sourness.
- Stir in the green purée and the salt. Cook 8-10 minutes over medium heat, stirring — you want the raw edge cooked off without dulling the color.
- Fold in the cream, then the drained paneer. Warm through 3 minutes only.
- Remove the dried lime. Finish with lemon zest and juice and a scatter of fresh dill, and check the salt.
More like this
https://www.lxvwine.com/recipes/silk-road-dill-persian-lime-saag-paneer/ · LXV Wine, Paso Robles