Fesenjoon | Persian Pomegranate and Walnut Stew (khoresh fesenjan)

Fesenjoon (خورش فسنجون) is a Persian stew made with ground walnuts, onions and pomegranate. Also pronounced, fesenjan, it can be made with chicken or duck, or you can leave the meat out and keep it vegan. Find more of my pomegranate recipes.

Fall season is pomegranate season. And if you have been following my blog, then you know that my family are absolute fanatics when it comes to this beautiful fruit. Middle-easterners have always loved their pomegranates. They are used in all aspects of cooking.

Khoresh Fesenjan is a very popular Persian stew that stands out amongst all of the stews that come from Iran. Most Persian stews feature a vegetable. Many are tomato based, like Persian eggplant stew (khoresh bademjan) and string bean stew (khoresht loobia sabz).

Other Persian stews are herb based, like our oh-so-delicious herb stew (ghormeh sabzi) and celery stew (khoresh karafs). But fesenjoon is unique, as it is made with crushed walnuts, onions and pomegranate concentrate.

Ingredients you need

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• Onions: The simple brown onion is perfect for this dish. Vidalia onions are a little sweeter and could also be used, if you want.
• Walnuts: The base of this stew is made with walnuts so make sure your walnuts are not stale. Also you do not want them salted. If you are allergic to walnuts you could use pecans. Make sure you use fresh walnuts and not stale walnuts. Stale walnuts have a bitter aftertaste and can ruin your stew.
• Boneless skinless chicken thighs: Traditionally, this dish is made with duck breast. But I prefer to use chicken thighs as it is more commonly available. If you prefer white meat, you can also use chicken breast. You can also use bone in chicken thighs or chicken leg quarters. I find that using boneless thighs is easier when cooking for a crowd because all of the meat is cut up prior to serving.
• Pomegranate molasses: If I can find it, I prefer to use pomegranate concentrate in my cooking, so I can control the amount of sugar in my recipes. If you use concentrate, you will need to add a couple tablespoons of sugar to balance the tartness. If you are using pomegranate molasses, sugar is already added and you do not need the additional sugar. Different brands of pomegranate concentrate vary in flavor and sweetness.
• Saffron: You do not need much saffron for fesenjoon. The saffron is crushed in a mortar and pestle and then steeped in hot water. Choose a high quality saffron that have long crimson strands. Bloom the saffron prior to cooking and let it steep.
• Pomegranate arils: I like to garnish this stew with fresh pomegranate arils, but this is not necessary to make the stew.
• Pantry staples: Extra virgin olive oil, granulated sugar (optional) salt and pepper.

Step-by-step directions

1. Purée the onions and walnuts. Peel and chop onions into large chunks and pulse in a food processor until smooth. Add walnuts and purée with the onions. Scrape down sides of the bowl and pulse until completely blended and a thick paste is formed.

2. Brown the meat. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. In batches, brown both sides of the chicken in hot oil. Transfer to a serving dish.
3. Add the onion mixture. You will have browned bits of chicken on the bottom of the pan. Leave it as you will cook it with the walnut mixture. Add the onion-walnut mixture into the bottom of the pan and spread it evenly over the bottom of the skillet.

4. Brown the onion mixture. Cook the mixture on medium-low heat and let the walnut mixture slowly cook and brown. Continue to stir and remix the paste, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan.

• If the bits are hard to scrape up, add a little water (I’m talking teaspoons) to help it deglaze. Do not burn the mixture. If it is cooking too fast, reduce the heat. Keep cooking the mixture and stirring it until the walnut-onion mixture is deep brown in color and crumbly. This should take about 1 hour.
• Remember, that this is done slowly. You do NOT want to burn the walnuts or else it will taste horrible and you will have to throw it away and start again.
• Most other fesenjan recipes do require this browning step. They simply add the walnut paste directly into the stew with the rest of the ingredients. But I promise you that your fesenjoon will taste 100x better by doing this extra step. 

5. Add the pomegranate. Stir the bloomed saffron and pomegranate concentrate into the walnut-onion mixture and continue cooking it. If the sauce needs thinning, drizzle in water as needed. Add sugar, if using.

6. Add the chicken. Cut the chicken into strips and add it to the pomegranate sauce. Simmer until the color darkens and the chicken absorbs some of the sauce and flavor, about 20 minutes.
7. Serve. The stew can be cooled and refrigerated at this point until ready to serve. Simply reheat in a pot or in the oven until warmed through, adding water if the stew seems dry. Garnish with pomegranate arils, if using, upon serving. Serve with Persian rice.

Recipe tips and FAQs

Intimidated with pomegranate? Sure, you can buy packages of pomegranate seeds at the store, but it’s really not that hard to seed a pomegranate. Watch the video above or read detailed instructions on how to seed a pomegranate.

If you are lucky to enough have a hoard of pomegranates on hand, I also have a great detailed post on how to juice a pomegranate.

You can use store bought of homemade pomegranate molasses or concentrate. Pomegranate concentrate is just pomegranate juice that has been reduced down by 50%. My friend Beth, at OMG Yummy, has great instructions on how to make pomegranate molasses here.

We serve this dish with sides like mast o khiar (yogurt with cucumbers) and fresh herbs (sabzi khordan). You can also serve it with Shirazi salad (cucumber tomato salad).

Fesenjoon | Persian Pomegranate and Walnut Stew (khoresh fesenjan خورش فسنجون)

Laura Bashar | Family Spice

Fesenjoon is a Persian stew made with ground walnuts and pomegranates. It can be made with chicken or duck, or you can leave the meat out and keep it vegan.

5 from 11 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Persian

Servings 8

Calories 642 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 large onion about 1-pound, peeled and quartered
• 8 oz walnuts about 2 cups
• 2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon ground saffron steeped in 1 TBS hot water
• 2 cup pomegranate molasses
• ¼ cup water if needed
• 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
• ¼ cup pomegranate arils

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Instructions

 

• Purée onions until smooth in a food processor.
• Add in walnuts and purée with the onions. Scrape down sides of the bowl and pulse in the food processor until onions and walnuts are completely blended and a thick paste is formed.
• Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
• In a large skillet over medium-high heat add olive oil. When oil is hot, add chicken and cook until browned, approximately 3-5 minutes.
• Turn chicken thighs over and brown the other side. Transfer chicken to a serving dish and reserve.
• Transfer the walnut-onion mixture to the hot pan and smooth it evenly onto the bottom of the skillet.
• Heat mixture over medium-low. When it starts to brown, stir and remix the paste and smooth it again evenly on to the bottom of the skillet.
• Reduce heat to low and repeat step 5 every 10-15 minutes. Cook until walnut-onion mixture is deep brown in color and crumbly, about 1 hour..
• Stir saffron and pomegranate concentrate into walnut-onion mixture.
• Cut chicken thighs into strips and add to the pomegranate mixture. Cover and simmer until color darkens, about 20 minutes.
• If sauce needs thinning, drizzle in water as needed.
• Different brands of pomegranate concentrate vary in flavor and sweetness. If your pomegranate concentrate is too sour, stir in a little sugar until desired sweetness. If you are using pomegranate molasses, it is already sweetened with sugar, so no additional sugar is needed.
• Transfer stew into serving dish and garnish with pomegranate arils.

Notes

Serving Suggestions: Serve with Persian rice.

Cooking Tips: You can also shred the chicken and then add it to stew. This is a very rich and filling dish that your guests will love! For a vegetarian version, do not add chicken.

You can also make this dish with bone in chicken thighs or leg quarters. Simply brown the chicken first and let it finish cooking in the sauce until no longer pink inside.

TO STORE: Store any leftover stew in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.

TO FREEZE: You can also freeze leftovers. Transfer to a resealable bag or freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1½ cupsCalories: 642kcalCarbohydrates: 68gProtein: 33gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 24gCholesterol: 138mgSodium: 371mgFiber: 3gSugar: 62g

Keyword fesenjaan, fesenjan, fesenjoon, fesenjoon recipe, khoresh fesenjan, khoresh fesenjoon, persian pomegranate stew, pomegranate walnut stew

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This post was first published in 2012. It has been updated with more information and new photographs.