Fesenjoon- Persian Pomegranate Walnut Stew

The first time I was acquainted with this dish was when my Iranian friend made me taste it out of her thermos at lunch. I was really hesitant at first because it just looks like a brown mass, but she insisted that it’s the best thing ever. I’m so grateful that I tried it because my life has not been the same since! No really, it really made me look at food from other cultures in a different light, as things that look like poo can taste amazing too. I guess Koreans have a lot of those dishes, but I never really saw it that way because I grew up with it.

So this stew has a wonderful tangy nutty flavour that is both sweet and savoury because it has shredded chicken goodness in it. The texture is like pulled pork while it tastes like pomegranate. It’s by far one of the easiest things to make with the least number of ingredients as you can just put it in a slow cooker, forget about it overnight or for a few hours, and you can come back to it and it smells and tastes amazing!

Final Product:


Ingredients:
4 Tbsp Olive oil
1 large Onion, diced
2 lbs Chicken Breasts, skinless, boneless (4-5 breasts)
OR
Equivalent amount of Seitan if you’d like to make it vegetarian
2 cups Ground Walnuts
1 Bottle Pomegranate Paste
3 Cups of Water
1 Lemon or Lime
1/4 cup Agave Nectar (or 1/2 cup-1cup sugar)
1/4 tsp (a hefty pinch) of Saffron, ground then soaked
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
Optional: 2 Tbsp Corn starch

1. Peel and dice an onion. I only had a red onion in the house so I used that. Cut in half, with root side down, slice but not all the way through. Turn it on its side and slice the other way but not all the way through, now cut crosswise to dice the onion. Add to a pot with heated olive oil.

  

2. Put the walnut halves in a food processor and pulse until you get a grainy texture. Don’t over do it or else it will become walnut butter. Set aside.

3. Cut chicken breasts into thirds. Season with Salt and pepper. Add to pot with sautéing onions. Wash hands and cutting board.

4. Stir around until the chicken gets seared. Start heating up your slow cooker.

5. Grind up a pinch of saffron using a mortar and pestle and add about 2Tbsp of boiling water to it.
 
6. Add ground walnuts to chicken when the chicken is seared and browned a bit.

7. When the walnuts have released their oils and had a chance to mingle with the chicken or when the bottom of the pot looks like it has walnut sticking and almost burning to it, add water, saffron, and pomegranate paste. Be sure to scrape the bottom of all things sticking to it.

8. Roll a lime, cut in half and squeeze the juice out of the whole lime it into the pot.

9. Add 1/4 cup of Agave syrup or 1/2 cup to 1 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through.

10. Transfer the contents of the pot to the slow cooker once the chicken is done and set on high and leave it for a few hours. Notice how light in colour it is. Once it has simmered for a good long while, it will turn the rich dark brown that is scrumptious goodness.

11. After a few hours, take all the chicken pieces out of the stew and shred with two forks. Put it all back into the slow cooker.

Leave it for another few hours or over night on low, and it’s done! How long do you wait? It all depends on how you like it, your patience, and hunger. I would say 1 hour minimum, but really… whenever you want it! If you want it thicker, ladle out a bit of the broth, whisk a couple tablespoons of corn starch until there are no lumps and put it back in. It will thicken like magic!

 
Serve with basmati rice cooked with a little saffron water and a sprinkling of chopped parsley.