June 28, 2003

Fesenjoon

Serve this traditional stew of pomegranates, walnuts, onions, and chicken seitan over steamed basmati white rice with saffron.

Ingredients
4 Tbsp (60mL) olive oil

1 large onion, diced

1 package of chicken-style seitan

2 cups (240g) ground walnut

1/2 cup (115g) pomegranate paste in 3 cups (720mL) of water

1 Tbsp (15mL) lemon juice

1/2 to 1 cup (100 to 200g) sugar

1/4 tsp (1g) ground saffron

2 tsp (12g) salt (sea salt if on a corn-free diet*)

Directions
In a food processor, pulse walnuts until finely ground. (Don’t overdo it, or you will have walnut butter.) Set aside.

In a large pot, sauté onions and seitan in oil for about 5 minutes. Add ground walnut and mix well with the onion and seitan. Add the remaining ingredients at this time.

Bring to boil, cover, reduce heat to low, and allow to simmer for 1 hour. It’s only during this slow cooking process that the natural oil is released from walnuts, which creates this lustrous creamy sauce. Stir occasionally.

Serve over your favorite grain.

* Allergy notes: People following a corn-free diet should avoid iodized salt since it contains dextrose, which should be avoided by those allergic to corn.

(courtesy of Jayran. Recipe by Omid Roustaei

Posted by sasha at 02:43 AM Comments (0)