Laboo, Persian Warm Street Beets
Laboo is winter comfort sold from carts on Iranian streets, pyramids of glistening dark-red beets kept warm over a burner and scooped into a bowl against the cold. It is one of the purest things in Persian cooking, a single vegetable and nothing else, transformed only by a long, patient simmer that turns the beets so sweet they taste candied. The trick is to cook them whole and unpeeled so none of that sweetness escapes, then reduce the deep-colored cooking water into a light syrup to glaze them. A stick of cinnamon in the pot is a common touch, though many vendors add nothing at all. Beets carry a fair amount of naturally occurring sodium, which is worth knowing, but no salt is added and none is missed. It is a snack, a warm-up, and a reminder that the cheapest vegetable in the shop can be dessert.
Ingredients
- 2 lb Beets, scrubbed, tails and an inch of stem left on
- 1 whole cassia cinnamon, stick
Method
- Put the whole beets in a pot with the cinnamon stick and cover them with water by an inch (2.5 cm). Leaving the beets whole, with their skins and a stub of stem, is deliberate: it keeps the color and the sugars locked inside instead of bleeding out into the water, which is what happens the moment you cut or peel them first.
- Bring to a boil, then lower to a gentle simmer and cook, partly covered, until a knife slides into the largest beet with no resistance, about 50 to 60 minutes depending on size. Top up with hot water if the level drops below the beets. The long, slow cook is what concentrates their sweetness to the point that no sweetener is ever needed.
- Lift the beets out and let them cool just enough to handle. The skins should now slip off under your thumbs; if any cling, a paring knife takes them cleanly. Do this over a bowl to catch the juice.
- Meanwhile, turn the heat up under the cooking liquid and boil it hard until it reduces to a few tablespoons of glossy ruby syrup, about 10 minutes. This is the only step that turns plain boiled beets into laboo: the reduced liquid becomes a natural glaze with a whisper of cinnamon.
- Slice the warm peeled beets into thick rounds or wedges, pile them in a bowl, and spoon the warm syrup over the top. Eat them warm, with a fork or with your fingers, the way they are sold on cold nights in Iran. They keep several days in the refrigerator and are good cold, though warm is the point.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 90 calories, 3 g protein, 5 g fiber, 110 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
