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Khoresh-e Fesenjān
Rasht, Gilan, Iran
The most sophisticated dish in the Persian canon, and arguably the most ancient: clay tablets from the ruins of Persepolis (c. 515 BCE) list pomegranates and walnuts as royal pantry staples, almost certainly used in a predecessor of this very stew. Modern fesenjān is a slow-simmered khoresh of duck, chicken, or sometimes wild game in a sauce made from nothing but finely ground toasted walnuts and reduced pomegranate molasses, cooked so long that the walnut oil separates and rises in a deep amber slick on top of an almost-black, intensely sour-sweet sauce. There are no other spices, just a touch of saffron and salt. The result is unlike any other stew on earth: rich and lacquered, simultaneously tart and nutty, with a slight bitterness from the walnut skins that keeps it from tipping into dessert. Native to Gilan and Mazandaran along Iran's Caspian coast, where wild duck and pomegranates both grow in abundance, fesenjān is the centerpiece of Yalda Night (the winter solstice) and major weddings. The sauce is so prized that some Gilan families ladle it over rice and skip the meat entirely.
Ingredients
- 1 kgchicken thighs or duck legs (skin-on, bone-in)
- 400 gshelled walnut halves
- 150 mlpomegranate molasses (sour)
- 2 mediumyellow onion (grated)
- 0.25 tspsaffron threads (bloomed in 3 tbsp hot water)
- 3 tbspbutter or ghee
- 1 tspsugar (only if molasses is very tart)
- 1.5 tspsalt
- 0.5 tspground black pepper
- 1.2 Lwater
- 1 handfulpomegranate arils (to garnish)
Directions
- 1
Toast the walnuts in a dry pan over low heat for 8 minutes, until fragrant but not darkened; cool, then grind to a fine paste in a food processor.
- 2
In a heavy pot, sweat the grated onion in butter over medium-low heat until deeply golden, about 12 minutes.
- 3
Brown the chicken on all sides in the same pot; remove and set aside.
- 4
Stir the ground walnuts into the onion and cook 5 minutes; pour in the water and bring to a gentle simmer.
- 5
Cover partially and simmer on the lowest possible heat for 45 to 60 minutes, stirring often, until the walnut oil rises and the sauce darkens to amber.
- 6
Stir in the pomegranate molasses, bloomed saffron, salt, pepper, and sugar if using; return the chicken to the pot.
- 7
Simmer uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes more, until the sauce reduces to a glossy near-black gravy and the chicken is meltingly tender.
- 8
Rest 10 minutes; serve over Persian saffron rice (chelow) scattered with pomegranate arils.