When you buy a container with fresh pomegranate seeds from the store, you need to put it to use before the husband hits said container and inhales them all while watching Broadchurch late at night. I managed to salvage enough seeds to showcase them over a favorite of mine, Fesenjan. Yes, I’ve blogged about it in the past (click here), but this time I used the pressure cooker and really enjoyed the added lusciousness-factor the method provided. If you have a pressure cooker, or the fashionable instant pot, you can turn this classic into fast-food. Can you imagine so much joy on a weeknight dinner?
FESENJAN
(slightly adapted from A Calculated Whisk)
6 ounces walnut halves, lightly toasted
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut in half
1 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 shallot, chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cardamon
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup pomegranate molasses
2 tablespoons honey
½ cup pomegranate seeds, for serving
chopped fresh cilantro, for serving
Place the toasted walnuts in a food processor and grind them to a coarse powder. Reserve.
On a large skillet or in the pressure cooker (on the instant pot), heat the olive oil and add the chicken pieces seasoned with salt and pepper. Brown them lightly, if necessary in two batches. Reserve. Add the shallots, saute’ for a couple of minutes, then add the turmeric, cinnamon and cardamon. Stir until fragrant. Pour in the chicken stock. If using a skillet, transfer the mixture to the pressure cooker now.
to print the recipe, click here
Comments: If you don’t have a pressure cooker (or an Instant Pot) you can obviously adapt it for a regular pan, just cook it on a very low simmer for 45 minutes to one hour. I like the chicken to be super tender. Pomegranate molasses is a great ingredient to have in your pantry. You can cook down pomegranate juice with sugar to the point of a syrup, and use that instead, but the convenience of opening a bottle is hard to beat. If you’d like to make it from scratch, here is a good method.
Fesenjan goes well over white rice, over Persian rice (see my version here), or cauliflower rice for those who prefer to follow a low-carb route. Leftovers enjoyed inside a corn tortilla are a no-no. If you know a food blogger who admits in public to doing that, stop following her (or him) immediately.
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Bewitching Kitchen 
Oh my, so much flavour!!!!! I need to make a veg version, maybe with cauliflower?
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definitely!
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Or aubergine??? Sounds like that could be heavenly!!!!
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maybe a mix of cauli and aubergines? I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with aubergine, the texture with the skin is not something I enjoy, and without the skin I find overly mushy – but you master cooking it like a pro! 😉
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Maybe I need to cook some for you….?!
Having said that, I wonder if the skins are different on the produce that you get over there?
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Food historians have always placed Persian cuisine amongst the world’s finest . . . . this here does give an example why! The depth and balance of flavours which do not depend on heat is delightful. I have had a number of blogfriends from the area thru’ the years and have successfully made quite a few of their dishes . . . can’t wait to taste the balance twixt the nuts and turmeric against the body and sweetness of the pomegranate molasses . . .
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I love that cuisine – what they do with simple rice to elevate it to a glorious side dish, is amazing, to me it surpasses risotto by a long shot because it is so simple, so few ingredients, but… magical
the cuisine is not excessive in spices, it is just right.
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I don’t do insta anything – it just goes against my nature. I’m going to cook it the non-instant way because this dish sounds fabulous!
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I don’t do instant – I do pressure 😉 But I am Brazilian and we take our pressure cookers with a ton of affection 😉
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I love it when you do the planning for my supper. 🙂
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always glad to help a friend! 😉
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OMG I was actually wondering if this might be good in a corn tortilla, up until that damning sentence. You’ve set me straight. 😉
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your dirty secret will be fine with me… (wink, wink)
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This sounds amazing Sally. I actually have a bottle of pomegranate molasses I picked up at a Middle Eastern market. What a wonderful sounding dish!
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It is very tasty, and I think you will like this recipe quite a bit – the colors, the textures, all work together nicely
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I have never heard of fesenjan, looks fabulous and I have pinned for the future.
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