fesenjan — iranian pomegranite and walnut stew

a poem & a recipe

it is a birthday,

we will celebrate

with ruby and rust colored fruit

walnuts, coarse by a blade

a winter stew.

i worry about steps

scrawled on a spare, sparse page

my immediate memory fails me

chicken first? or onions

first? and the walnuts?

until my hands gently guide

themselves and me

with their wisdom.

they have been making this

for thousands of years

and will continue to

for a thousand more.

the stew hums for hours

i hum along too

tend to it with my spoon

folding velvet,

deep violet, and black

like the january night.

I sneak little sips

and the flavors twinkle on my tongue,

a tarte tang rendered by a rush of sweet

melts into my mouth.

two old friends happen upon on our doorstep

perhaps the smell of sweetness

greeted their feet

pulled them to the source

beckoned them to celebrate.

now it is a party

a chorus of

sugary groans in pleasure.

-       1 onion sliced, caramelize until brown, remove from heat and set aside

-       1 onion sliced, saute for 2 min

-       sprinkle onions with turmeric, saute for 1 more minute

-       add 250g of crushed walnuts, more coarse than tiny sand, finer than gravel

-       add the caramelized onions (but don’t add their oil)

-       add a cup of cold water and simmer the walnuts on low.

every 15 minutes, add a spoonful or two of ice cold water to “shock” the walnuts into releasing their oil

-       add 2-3 large spoonfuls of pomegranate molasses

-       add 4 chicken thighs, cut into smaller pieces

-       continue to simmer for 2 hours, ice shocking every 15 minutes

assess the flavors. Depending on the sweetness/tarteness of the pomegranate molasses you may need to add more molasses or balance the tarte with a bit of sugar. If it is too sweet add a little bit of sour grape juice or vinegar in the last 5 min of cooking

-       simmer on the stove another 1-2 hours to let the flavors set and bloom

-       serve with rice

-       voila!