Fessanjoon

[pstamler]

Hi folks:

Here's one recipe for fessanjoon, pared down to bare minimum. It is dairy-free if you use oil instead of butter. I'll also post my Not-Fessanjoon recipe.

Fessanjoon [Persian Chicken] (4)

Disjoint a roasting chicken [Note 1]. Saute in butter or oil; put to the side.

In a large saucepan, brown one finely-chopped onion in butter [Note 2]. None of this "cook until transparent" crap; brown the little suckers.

Add 1 cup ground walnuts; stir well.

Add 1/2 cup pomegranate juice or the juice of 2 lemons [Note 3],
2-1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (2 cans of Campbell's)

Stir, heat until it's well-heated and thickens a bit. Season to taste [Note 4]; if necessary add 1-2 teaspoons sugar. Add the chicken and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Serve with rice.

Note 1: Or use 1-1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1" chunks, as I did.

Note 2: I used olive oil instead. And I did it in the same skillet as the chicken had been in, adding the chicken to it later.

Note 3: Yes, the lemon juice works and tastes good, but you don't get the rich purple color.

Note 4: I hate it when recipes say "season to taste". How about giving me at least a hint of what seasoning might be appropriate? I know I used 1/8 tsp of salt and a pinch of cayenne, but I don't remember what else I used, if anything.

The recipe above came from a mid-1970s edition of Marion Rombauer Becker's "The Joy of Cooking", of all places. It seems to have vanished from subsequent editions. It is, as far as I can tell, the quintessential fessanjoon recipe. There are plenty of others on the web, but they seem to involve more exotic ingredients, like pomegranate syrup rather than juice.

I don't claim that I got it right (it tastes different from what they make at Cafe Natasha), but it was darned good

The Not-Fessanjoon recipe follows.

Peace,
Paul

 

[pstamler]

Not-Fessanjoon (4)

Combine in a small bowl or cup 1 teaspoon turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and a pinch of cayenne. Set aside.

In a cast-iron skillet, brown (in oil [Note 1]) 1-1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1" chunks. Remove to a large saucepan.

In the same skillet, brown one largish sweet onion, chopped. As in the Fessanjoon recipe, don't crap around with "saute until transparent" -- brown 'em. Dump into the saucepan.

Still in the skillet, pour in 1/2 cup chopped and broken-up walnut pieces [Note 2] and the spice mixture. Toast for about 1 minute (don't let it burn!), then pour into the saucepan.

Deglaze the skillet with one can Campbell's Low-Sodium Chicken Broth. Pour into the saucepan.

Add one soup can of pomegranate juice and a splash of sweet red wine (I used Manischewitz Concord grape wine -- it has to be sweet!) Add 1/8 teaspoon salt if desired.

Stir, simmer for 25 minutes. Serve with rice.

Note 1: I was out of olive oil, so I used canola. Probably olive would be fine.

Note 2: I suspect I didn't break the walnut pieces up enough; there needs to be a certain amount of very finely-ground walnut dust to help thicken the sauce.

Note 3: This has a greenish color which is quite surprising, not at all like the purple of real fessanjoon. If necessary, pretend it's pea soup. It tastes excellent, especially on the second day, and makes excellent sandwiches.

The idea of adding turmeric came from one of the odder fessanjoon recipes I found on the web.

Peace,
Paul

 

[SSLtech]

Paul.

It's in the final 5 minutes of simmering right now...

...and the aroma is getting rave comments from the wife and the young 'un.

-I'll be back with a critique later on.

I ground the walnuts a little finer, since that's closer to how I've had it before, but all else was as per the second variant, bar turmeric. -Onions were semi-caramelised before transfer to the pot, and appear to have broken down into a lovely jam.

...Details at eleven.

Keef

 

[emrr]

The wife's on this one soon....if I don't beat her to it.

 

[pstamler]

Yes, caramelized is good.

Meanwhile, I had fessanjoon tonight at Cafe Natasha. Definitely grind the walnuts quite fine.

Theirs was exquisite. Different from either of mine, but I like all three. Definitely some different spices, perhaps two or three pinces of cayenne. Or fresher cayenne. The color was purplish-brown.

Also on the menu: a band called Ottoman Underground. Definitely excellent.

Peace,
Paul

 

[mnats]

I tried the first recipe last night but used fresh stock. As luck would have it, there is a Persian shop around the corner. I bought the pomegranate juice there.

While the flavor was good, I didn't see the purplish color described, nor could I really taste any trace of the pomegranate. Might try bumping up the proportion next time.

It was a big hit with the wife though - thanks for the unusual recipe. The only other Persian food I recall having was translated as "head and thigh" - lamb's brain and leg meat. But what sticks out in my mind was the fizzy yogurt drink served with that meal.

 

[SSLtech]

I didn't actually achieve a 'purple' color; -more of a deep mahogany brown...

-In fact my wife came over to see what the wonderful aroma was, and she asked me if it was really chicken, or BEEF! -such was the dark walnut-mahogany shade.

Here's a couple of pics taken of the end of the simmer, right before serving, and the final plating. -The rice was an Indus Valley basmati, with a subtle nutty flavor of its own, -it was a very pleasant accompaniment.

The chicken really DOES take on the appearance of braised beef... such is the depth of the sauce's
tone'.

-yum!

Thanks, Paul!!!

Keith

 

[amorris]

Well, I did it! came out real good. a few modifications, a dinner guest hates onion so I used celery and it turned out great. you can really taste the nutmeg and cinnamon. they were a nice touch. I took some pics so when I check em out, Ill post.

 

[Freq Band]

Not burning the nuts is so crucial for any recipe, and will sour any dish if burnt. Do not remove your attention from the stove when toasting nuts.

I hate it when I burn my nuts on the stove.



=FB=

 

[nickt]

Keith -

You may like to dig up a real Persian rice recipe or you could use this one...

1. Wash your rice
2. Add a bunch of butter
3. Cook via the absorbtion method (sealed lid, 1:1.5 rice to water)
4. After 20 mins remove lid
5. Stick handle of spoon into rice in 3 places
6. Cook for a further 5 mins
7. The rice will have stuck to the pan and gone "crusty"
8. Put rice on a plate scrape crusty stuff off and put on top.

Anyway this is what I remember my Iranian girlfriend did back in the day.
Now I think about it she did some other nice things too... :green:

cheers
Nick

 

[KarlH]

Sunday seems to have been fessanjoon day! I tried Paul's second version and it was a hit, the wife came downstairs raving about how good it smelled. And, since we are in DIYland and pomegranates are in season, I DIYed the juice ;-)

Thanks to Mr. Stamler,

Karl