Fesenjan is a Persian-style chicken stew made by slow-cooking chicken breast or thigh with ground toasted walnuts and
pomegranate molasses.The chicken is browned and slow-cooked in a sauce of toasted walnuts and pomegranate molasses. You might not normally
think to make a sauce with walnuts and pomegranates, but this is a perfect combination.
Toast and grind walnuts:
There are two ways to toast walnuts. One is to spread the walnuts one at a time in a large skillet and toast
over medium
heat, stirring frequently, until lightly toasted; the other is to spread the walnuts one at a time on a rimmed
baking
sheet and toast in a 350°F oven for 8 to 10 minutes.
In either case, once toasted, remove from heat and allow to cool. When cool enough to handle, process in a food
processor or blender until finely chopped.
Brown the chicken on both sides:
Place 1 tablespoon butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.
When the butter is melted, pat the chicken dry and place the chicken in the pan. Sprinkle salt over the chicken
while it cooks.
saute the onions:
Remove chicken from pan with a spoon or tongs. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan.
Reduce
heat to medium-low. Add chopped onion to pan and saute until translucent.
Add chicken and bouillon:
Return chicken to pan with onions. Pour 2 cups of chicken stock over chicken and onions. Bring to a boil, reduce
heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
add ground walnuts, pomegranate molasses, sugar and spices, cover and simmer:b
Stir in the ground walnuts, pomegranate molasses, sugar and spices. Cover and simmer over very low heat for 1
hour,
stirring every 20 minutes or so to prevent the walnuts from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Remove from heat and season with sugar and salt. At this point, the chicken should be tender and tender.
serve on a plate:
Garnish with pomegranate seeds. Serve over rice of your choice, such as Parsi Pulao.
