Noosh-e-jan. Used in a similar context as “bon appetit,” the Farsi phrase translates as “may it feed your spirit.”

Bend resident Lily Sufi Nikzad channels the phrase in Noosh, an ancestrally led Persian food project that weaves traditional and modern flavors with offerings available at farmers’ markets, pop-up dinners and several stores in Bend. Her business partner and husband is Nick Doulos.

“We really like to create beautiful food experiences that are rooted in classical Persian flavors,” Nikzad said.

Nikzad started selling her creations at the NorthWest Crossing Farmers Market in 2022. She developed a product line that encompasses the herbaceous and complex nature of Persian foods with a sprinkling of creativity and a consideration for gluten-free and vegan dietary restrictions.

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Spicy Middle-Eastern dips

Noosh’s sweet and savory goods are available at the weekly Bend Farmers Market and NorthWest Crossing Farmers Market. Nikzad’s booth offers raw cookies and tarts, spicy Middle-Eastern dips and sometimes saffron rice pudding.

The beetroot in the beet labne dip ($7) I bought at the Bend Farmers Market last week painted the yogurt dip a rich magenta that exaggerated its mild, slightly sweet taste. The feta herb dip ($7) tasted slightly stronger, bolstered by the fresh taste of herbs and a note of mint.

I imagined drizzling it on roasted chicken and grilled vegetables, but was curious about the best way to enjoy the dips, so I asked Nikzad for her recommendations.

“The way I like to think about the dips as a cook is a way to get the complexity of Persian and Middle Eastern flavors into an easy-to-use vessel,” she said. “A dollop of any of these just adds so much complexity and richness to your food. They work so nicely with beautiful produce and meat.”

Nikzad said the dips may be spread on a sandwich, used to elevate macro bowls or thinned out with a little olive oil or lemon to make salad dressing. They may also be more simply enjoyed on a cracker or by the spoonful while deciding what to prepare for dinner.

The dips, which pull from classic Persian and Middle Eastern flavors, are versatile. Sometimes customers share new ways to enjoy them with Nikzad, such as a shopper who recently shared that they paired the beet labne with latkes.

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Vegan raw cookies and tarts

The raw cookies come in two flavors, pistachio-rose-cardamom and sea-salt-walnut-cacao ($3 each), and make for a tasty dessert or sweet snack.

Cardamom is at the forefront of the pistachio-rose-cardamom cookie, which was inspired by Persian-style baklava.

“That flavor I developed so I could enjoy that super typical Persian flavor any time of day,” Nikzad said.

Some vegan raw tarts taste like ice cream, others taste like cheesecake. Raw tarts come in flavors such as saffron-pistachio, rose-cardamom, spiced cacao, peanut butter and Persian sour cherry jam and lemon poppy seed, according to the website.

Nikzad said the cookies and tarts are vegan and gluten-free because she had to eat within those restrictions for a long time and wanted to find a way to enjoy Persian flavors within that framework.

Portal into Persian culture

Most important to Nikzad, a first-generation Iranian-American, is introducing the Central Oregon community to Persian culture.

“Food and caring for people and culinary extravagance are really big parts of the ways that we make each other feel loved,” she said. “It’s a really hospitality-oriented culture. It’s a very family-oriented culture.”

Nikzad said she hosts pop-up dinners every couple of months with what she describes as a welcoming and convivial environment and for which she usually pens the menu in a bilingual poem.

“It’s a very poetic culture, so I try to find ways to infuse and express my culture through various points in the evening,” she said.

The next event will be a four-course Greek and Persian dinner hosted by Spork on June 2.

Those interested in staying apprised of Noosh’s updates may sign up for the newsletter at nooshbylily.com, which has information about ticket sales for restaurant pop-ups and essays with a deep dive into ancient Persian and modern Iranian cuisine and culture.

Details

What: Noosh: Food with Spirit

Location: Products available at Wild Petals Provisions, Turtle Island Coffee and Central Oregon Locavore in Bend, Bend Farmers Market and NorthWest Crossing Farmers Market, and occasional restaurant pop-ups and other events.

Contact: nooshbylily.com, @noosh_by_lily on Instagram

Price Range: Sweet and savory goods cost $3-$9