Khoresht Karafs (Persian Celery Stew)

I can already hear people discounting this one as vegetarian nonsense. "Celery Stew? Where's the beef?"

Well, even though stewing beef chunks have been replaced with tofu, it's the broth and parsley/mint/lime flavoring that carries this dish. Try it, and you should be pleasantly surprised!

Ingredients
1 medium onion, diced
1 block extra-firm tofu, cubed
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp turmeric

1 head of celery, chopped into 1-inch-long pieces
1 block of chopped frozen spinach, defrosted

4 cups of hot water
2 (veggie) beef bouillion cubes (e.g. McCormick)
1 bunch of fresh mint
3 bunches of fresh parsley

1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Juice of 1 lime (or better yet, juice of unripe grapes, a.k.a. verjuice, or ab-ghooreh in Persian. See this link for more details)

Preparation

1. In a large pot, on high heat, add oil and brown the tofu and onion, then add turmeric and celery and fry another minute.
   
2. Slowly add 4 cups of hot water, then add the spinach, and then add all other spices except the lime juice. Give it a good stir and reduce heat to medium and cover the pot, leaving it to simmer for 30 minutes (or longer if you want the celery really soft).
   
3. After stewing, add the lime juice and serve the stew with rice.