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Title: Fesenjan I (Meat Ball in Pomegranate & Walnut
Categories: Meat Israel Jewish Persian
Yield: 1 Servings
| MEATBALLS | ||
| 2 | lb | Ground lamb, beef, veal, or turkey |
| 1 | md | (1/2 c) onion, grated |
| 1 | ts | Salt |
| 1/4 | ts | Pepper |
| 5 | tb | Corn oil |
| 2 | md | (1 c) onion, chopped |
| 2 | c | Walnuts, shelled & toasted |
| SAUCE | ||
| 1/4 | ts | Ground turmeric |
| 1/3 | c | Pomegranate concentrate, OR |
| 2 | c | Fresh pomegranate juice * |
| 2 | c | Water |
| 1/2 | c | Tomato paste |
| 1 | c | Dried apricot (aloo bukhara) OR |
| 1 | Cup, medium prunes, soak IN 1 c water for 2 hrs | |
| 1 | ts | Advieh spice mixture (see recipe) |
* if using fresh juice, reduce water to 1 cup.
This is a probably most celebrated & popular dish in Persian repertoire. It is respected, glorified, embellished w/adjectives, and it deserves it all. My Persian teacher told me it was "a dish for gentlemen," meaning that is expensive to prepare. The vital ingred is pomegranate juice (concentrate), which is available bottled. Fesenjan is eclectic but chicken is most popular. Duck, turkey, lamb, beef, veal, may also be used as boneless cubes, poultry parts w? the bone, or meatballs. All have their aficionados & are enhanced by the sauce. Wild duck, when available in Iran, is cooked whole in fesenjan sauce. A Long Island duckling is a reasonable substitute. This is considered to be a winter dish since its dense, richly flavored sauce & meat are overpowering during summer heat.
1. Mix meat, grated onions, salt, & pepper together. Prepare miniature meatball 1-" in diameter. Heat 3 tb oil in lg skillet & brown meatballs on all sides for 3 mins so that they hold their shape. Set aside. 2. Heat remaining oil in a large pan & stir-fry chopped onions over moderate heat until light brown, abt 3 mins. Add meatballs to pan & set aside. Grind toasted walnuts fine in processor & add to onion & meatballs. 3. Put all sauce ingreds in pan w/meat & walnuts. Bring to boil & mix carefully so as not to break up meatballs. Turn heat to low, cover pan, & cook for 1 hr. Stir now & then to prevent burning. The oil will rise to top when fesenjan is ready. sauce will be very dark & thick. Some cooks prefer to continue cooking for up to 2 hrs, more suitable when using meat chunks & poultry pieces. There should be plenty of sauce. Serve warm w/white rice & tadiq. Serves 6 to 8 w/other dishes.
NOTE: TO TOAST WALNUTS, place them in dry skillet over moderate heat for abt 2 mins, stirring continuously so that they do not scorch, or toast them on a baking sheet in 350 F. oven for 5 mins.
VARIATIONS: Using same ingreds & proportions for sauce, try any of variations listed. The exception is duck, where it is necessary to increase seasoning by half. Note that all meats must be browned in oil w/onion. Dried fruit is an admirable addition to fesenjan & American kitchen will have 3 traditional choices: dried apricots, yellow prunes, or medium black prunes. addition of fruit is a matter of personal preference but is recommended.
DUCK: Use a duck weighing abt 4-1/2 lbs, cut into 8 pieces, loose skin and fat discarded. Since American ducks are fat it is suggest that fesenjan be prepared 1 day in advance, refrigerated, & congealed fat discarded. Then rewarmed. TURKEY: 2 lbs boneless turkey cut into 2- or 3-inch pieces produces an excellent & relatively fatless fesenjan. LAMB: Persian eat a lot of lamb since it is most available meat in that country. Use 2 lbs boneless lamb cut into 3-inch pieces, or use other parts of lamb w/bone, such as shank, cut into 2-inch rounds.
Recipe: "Sephardic Cooking" by Copeland Mark -- 600 Recipes Created in Exotic Sephardic Kitchens from Morocco to India -- C 1992 Published by Donald I. Fine, Inc., New York, N.Y. D. Pileggi
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