Fesenjan (Chicken in Pomegranate Walnut Sauce)
Serves 4 to 6
2 pounds skinless chicken legs or breasts, rinsed and patted dry
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large or 2 small yellow onions, diced
2 beets, peeled, quartered, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 1/2 cups walnuts, pulsed in a food processor until coarsely ground
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup unsweetened pomegranate syrup
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
Seeds from 1/2 pomegranate
Fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
1) Heat a skillet over high heat and add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the chicken and brown lightly on both sides, working in batches to avoid crowding the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
2) Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the onions and cook until lightly browned. Add the beets, walnuts, garlic, cinnamon, and cayenne and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the pomegranate syrup and stock and bring to a boil. Cook at a low boil, covered, for 10 minutes. Add the chicken and simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.
3) The stew should be bubbling the whole time. Turn the chicken pieces over every 10 to 15 minutes. Taste and add salt. The beets should be fork-tender, and the stew liquid should be thickened.
4) To serve, transfer chicken to a cutting board. For chicken legs, separate the thigh from the drumstick. For breasts, slice each into 2 or 3 pieces. Put a small mound of rice on each plate with a few pieces of chicken on top. Spoon the stew over the chicken. Sprinkle pomegranate seeds and cilantro leaves on top.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
