Guest Blog entry - by the foodilcious Sabrina Ghayour!
Khoresht-e-Fesenjan (Walnut, Pomegranate and Chicken Stew) - by Sabrina GhayourSabrina is a beautiful foodie who has achieved so much through her passion for cooking - successful supperclub host, private chef, she's worked in top Michelin star restaurants and hotels. Not only is she also a cookery teacher and writer, she has had many magazine features under her belt together with winning on the famous 'Come dine with me' challenge on Channel 4 her other TV appearances include appearing as a guest critic on Gordon Ramsey's the "F " word and as a food panellist on UKTV's Market Kitchen. Amongst other culinary expeditions, she also runs an extremely successful and mouth-watering food blog at www.sabrinaghayour.comWith Sabrina's Iranian roots, her food is greatly influenced by her inherited culture and cuisine, but not limited to it. I adore Iranian food and the way that Sabrina integrates her culture and her love for traveling in all her very international and regional recipes. She is not only gorgeous but a fantastically friendly and embracing person! - of course I have yet to taste her food (as I know her through the blogosphere), but I can only imagine it to be sublime!Sabrina has kindly agreed to 'Guest Blog' this week at www.mytamarindkitchen.com and I feel honoured with her virtual presence on my blog and appreciate her delicious contribution!Here is a lovely Iranian recipe she has kindly shared with us and I hope you guys will enjoy it, just as much as I will! For more do check out her blog!
Khoresht-e-Fesenjan (Walnut, Pomegranate and Chicken Stew) (Serves 4-6)‘Khoresh’ or ‘Khoresht’ means stew in Persian. Khoresht-e-Fesenjan is a rich, glossy ragout of walnuts and pomegranate syrup with chicken, served simply with some basmati rice. Most Persians use chicken these days and I love using thigh meat as it retains its tenderness, moisture and flavour but the old Persian recipe uses duck or even tiny little lamb meatballs, which are both equally delicious.My best advice to you would be to make this dish from the day before really, as with Persian stews (and indeed most stews) the flavours have time to develop and intensify delivering a more superior result and a much fuller flavour. The actual preparation is easy as there really are only a few ingredients involved. This unique dish is pretty straight forward and a great favourite among Iranians so I hope you will try this recipe. Many of my friends have and they love it and I know you will too.
Ingredients8 chicken thighs (skin on or off, your choice)1 large (or 2 small) onions600g of walnuts, finely ground in a food processor1 tablespoon of plain flour3 heaped tablespoons of caster sugar300ml of pomegranate syrup3 tablespoons of vegetable oil1 tablespoon of Maldon sea salt flakesWaterMethodYou will need two large (and deep) cooking pans for this. Preheat them both on a medium heat and add oil into on of them and fry your onions until translucent and beginning to brown. Then season your chicken on both sides with salt and pepper and add them to the onions, turning the temperature up and stirring the pan well to ensure you seal the chicken well, then turn off the heat and set aside.In your other pan, add your plain flour and almost ‘toast’ it a little bit until is becomes a pale beige in colour. Then add your walnuts and fry the mixture through a little. You won’t need oil as the walnuts themselves have a high fat content. After about 5 minutes, add about 2 pints of cold water, stir well and bring the mixture to a slow boil. Cover with a lid and allow to bubble for about an hour on a low-medium heat. This process will ‘cook’ the walnuts and you will see oil rise to the surface after an hour, which means it’s cooked through.Add the sugar and pomegranate syrup to the mix and stir well for about a minute.Take your time to stir in pomegranate syrup as its thick consistency means it takes a while to fully dissolve into the stew. Then add the contents of your other pan into the walnut and pomegranate mixture, add enough water onto the mix to cover the contents and slow cook on a low temperature for approximately 2 hours, stirring thoroughly once every so often to ensure you lift the walnuts from the bottom of the pan so they don’t burn. As this stage, what initially looked beige has now turned into a rich, dark, almost chocolatey looking mixture. The flavour is deep and sweet with a nutty texture and a wonderfully gentle acidity that cuts right through the richness of the dish, almost rinsing your palate after every mouthful. Serve with a steaming mound of basmati rice and find a corner to enjoy your meal in peace, because this dish deserves nothing short of 100% of your undivided attention.Best wishesSabrina
Twitter: @SabrinaGhayour
