Dinner · 90 min · middle-eastern

Fesenjan

This is the kind of Middle Eastern dinner you’ll make on repeat — chicken thighs and walnuts, 90 minutes, big payoff. Each serving lands at 880 calories with 55g of protein, so it eats like a much heavier meal. No specialty equipment and nothing hard to find at a regular grocery store.

Ingredients

• 2.5 lb Chicken thighs
• 1 lb Walnuts
• 3/4 cup Pomegranate molasses
• 1 Onion
• 1 tsp Turmeric
• 2 tbsp Sugar
• 4 cups Saffron rice

Steps

1. Toast the walnuts 8 minutes until fragrant, then grind to a fine, almost buttery meal — the walnuts are the sauce, not a garnish.
2. Simmer the ground walnuts in 4 cups cold water 20 minutes, stirring, until the mixture darkens and releases its oil.
3. Brown the chicken and set aside; soften the onion and turmeric in the same pot.
4. Add the walnut mixture, pomegranate molasses, and sugar to the pot with the chicken; the sauce should be the color of dark mahogany.
5. Simmer low 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens to a glossy, spoon-coating consistency and the chicken surrenders.
6. Balance the sweet and sour: fesenjan should make your mouth water, leaning tangy with sweetness in support.
7. Serve over saffron rice; Persia’s most luxurious stew, traditionally made for celebrations.

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