Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Meat and fruit stews for the Jewish New Year
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins on Sunday evening, Sept. 9.
Last year we enjoyed celebrating a Rosh Hashanah dinner with our next-door neighbors, who are from Iran. On their beautiful holiday table, a bowl of jewellike pomegranate arils was one of the foods that were set out for the ceremonial blessings, along with leek chives, fried zucchini, cooked beets, pinto beans in tomato sauce, fava beans cooked in their pods, dates, apples, and honey. The prayer over the pomegranate expressed the wish that one’s mitzvot, or good deeds, be as numerous as the fruit’s seeds.
The pomegranate is one of the Torah’s Seven Species, and so it’s not surprising that it finds its way into the holiday meals. Indeed, Persian Jews use the fruit in a popular dish — a chicken and pomegranate stew called khoresh fesenjan. I learned to make it from an Iranian woman who came to my cooking classes. The luscious sauce is flavored with pomegranate molasses or pomegranate juice and a generous amount of ground walnuts; sometimes pomegranate arils are added as well.
When we visited Azerbaijan, which borders Iran, we discovered that this pomegranate flavored stew is a much loved entree there. In fact, when we were in Baku, the capital, there was a festival devoted to fesenjan. At the festival the dish was made in a variety of ways — with quail, lamb, beef, rooster, meatballs and even fish, and we found them delicious.
Instead of — or in addition to — the pomegranate molasses, the sauce might be flavored with sour plums or the juice of unripe grapes, and it might have almonds instead of walnuts. Other fruits that might be used are barberries or raisins. Some cooks add a pinch of spice, such as saffron, turmeric or cardamom, which lend an exotic touch.
In spite of these stews’ origin in faraway lands, there was something familiar about them. They reminded me of tsimmes, an Ashkenazi (Eastern European Jewish) stew made with fruit that has been a traditional dish for Rosh Hashanah in my family. My mother usually made this sweet stew with beef, potatoes, sweet potatoes and prunes, and sometimes dried apricots as well. Unlike tsimmes, these Persian and Azerbaijani stews have nuts and do not have potatoes or sweet potatoes. They are served with Basmati rice.
In Baku we asked Milikh Yevdayev, the president of the Community of Mountain Jews, about Jewish holiday cooking in Azerbaijan. He told us that for the holidays, not only do Jews prepare dishes that are favorites of all Azerbaijanis, but they often celebrate the holidays with their countrymen of other religions. Perhaps we should add a wish to our family’s pomegranate blessing that people of different religions everywhere live in peace and harmony.
CHICKEN WITH POMEGRANATES AND WALUTS
Pomegranate molasses is sometimes called pomegranate paste. You can find it in Middle Eastern markets.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
INGREDIENTS 3 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
2 1/2 pounds chicken thigh and drumstick pieces, bone in, skin and excess fat removed, rinsed, patted dry
2 medium onions (about 14 or 15 ounces), chopped (3 cups chopped)
1 1/2 cups walnuts (about 6 ounces) 1 1/2 cups water 1/2 cup pomegranate molasses, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon saffron threads
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 to 3 teaspoons sugar, or to taste (optional)
2 to 3 teaspoons lemon juice, or to taste (optional)
1/4 to 1/3 cup pomegranate arils (seeds) (for garnish)
Italian parsley sprigs or leaves (optional, for garnish)
A few walnuts (optional, for garnish)
Hot cooked white Basmati rice or Saffron and white Basmati rice (see recipe Simple Cooked Basmati Rice) PREPARATION 1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy wide stew pan. Add chicken in batches and sauté over mediumhigh heat, turning pieces from time to time, until their color changes, about 7 minutes; you’re not trying to brown the chicken, just to add a sautéed flavor.
2. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan and heat it over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden. Meanwhile, finely chop walnuts in a food processor with pulsing motion until they become a fine powder.
3. Reduce heat under pan to low. Stir in ground walnuts and cook over low heat, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in water and pomegranate molasses, and bring to a simmer, stirring.
4. Add chicken and any juices on plate to pan. Sprinkle chicken with salt. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring and turning pieces over occasionally, about 35 minutes, or until chicken is tender.
5. Meanwhile, soak saffron in 2 tablespoons hot water for about 20 minutes.
6. When chicken is tender, remove chicken pieces from pan. Add saffron mixture to sauce and simmer uncovered over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens to your taste. Add pepper to taste.
7. Taste for salt, and add sugar if needed. If you like, whisk in 1 or 2 more teaspoons pomegranate molasses or add lemon juice to taste. Return chicken to sauce and heat through.
8. Stir sauce before serving. Serve stew hot, garnished with pomegranate seeds, and if you like, with parsley or walnuts, and accompanied by Basmati rice.
BEEF WITH WALNUTS AND DARK RAISINS
This stew is flavored with sour grape juice (verjuice), the juice of unripe grapes. You can find it bottled at Persian markets and at some other Middle Eastern markets. Barberries are available at Persian markets. Yield: 4 to 6 servings INGREDIENTS 3 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
2 pounds boneless lean beef stew meat, excess fat trimmed, cut in 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inch cubes, patted dry
3 medium onions (about 1 pound), quartered and sliced (about 4 cups)
1 cup walnuts, plus a few extra walnuts for garnish
2/3 cup sour grape juice (verjuice) or 3 tablespoons lemon or lime juice, or more to taste About 2 cups water 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 cups diced peeled butternut squash (1/2-inch dice)
1 cup large dark raisins, plus a few extra for garnish 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 or 2 tablespoons dried barberries or dried cranberries (for garnish)
2 to 3 teaspoons chopped parsley (for garnish)
Hot cooked Basmati rice, or saffron and white Basmati rice (see recipe Simple Cooked Basmati Rice) PREPARATION 1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy wide stew pan over medium-high heat. Add beef cubes in batches and brown them on all sides, taking about 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer cubes to a plate as they brown.
2. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan and heat it. Add onions and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, about 10 minutes or until browned.
3. Meanwhile, grind 1 cup walnuts to a fine powder by pulsing them in a food processor, and reserve.
4. Return meat and any juices from its plate to the pan. Add sour grape juice (but not lemon or lime juice at this point) and about 2 cups water, or enough to come almost to height of beef. Add the salt and bring to boil, stirring often. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 1 1/2 hours. If sauce boils hard, reduce heat to very low.
5. Add diced butternut squash and ground walnuts to pan. If sauce is too thick, add 2 or 3 tablespoons water. Cook over very low heat, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes, stirring often, until beef and squash are tender when pierced with tip of a thin knife.
6. If using lime or lemon juice, add it now. Add 1 cup large dark raisins and cook for 5 minutes or until softened. Add sugar to taste, and cook for 1 or 2 minutes to dissolve it. Add cardamom and black pepper to taste.
7. Serve stew garnished with more dark raisins, walnut pieces, barberries and chopped parsley, and accompanied by Basmati rice.
LAMB WITH TOASTED ALMONDS AND POMEGRANATE MOLASSES
Dried golden sour plums are available at Persian markets and at some Middle Eastern markets. You can substitute dried apricots.
Instead of blanching and peeling whole almonds, you can use slivered almonds. Their toasting time is slightly shorter than that of whole almonds. The dish will look slightly different but will taste the same. Yield: 4 to 6 servings INGREDIENTS 3 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
2 pounds boneless lamb stew meat, cut in 1-inch cubes, patted dry
3 medium onions (1 1/4 pounds), quartered and sliced (4 2/3 cups) 1 1/2 cups water 1/4 cup pomegranate molasses, or more to taste 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup almonds, blanched and peeled (see Cook’s Note)
1 cup dried golden sour plums 1 tablespoon sugar Freshly ground pepper to taste
Hot cooked white Basmati rice or Saffron and white Basmati rice (see recipe Simple Cooked Basmati Rice) PREPARATION 1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy wide stew pan over medium-high heat. Add lamb cubes in batches and brown them on all sides, transferring them to a plate as they brown.
2. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan and heat over mediumlow heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, about 7 minutes or until softened. Return meat to pan. Stir in water and pomegranate molasses and bring to a boil, stirring. Add salt, turmeric and cinnamon.
3. Cover and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours or until lamb is tender, adding a few tablespoons water if sauce becomes dry. If sauce boils hard, reduce heat to very low.
4. Meanwhile, toast almonds: Preheat oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Toast almonds on a baking sheet in oven about 7 minutes or until their color darkens very slightly and they are aromatic. Transfer them to a plate.
5. Pit the dried plums by cutting around the pit, as when pitting olives. Save 8 to 10 nice halves for garnish. Chop rest of plums.
6/ Add chopped yellow plums and sugar to sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes to blend flavors. Taste for salt, and add more pomegranate molasses or sugar to sauce if desired. Add freshly ground pepper to taste. Add almonds and stir to coat with sauce.
7. Serve stew garnished with pieces of yellow plums. Accompany by Basmati rice.
Cook’s Note: To Blanch Almonds:
Boil enough water in a saucepan to generously cover almonds. Add almonds and return to a boil. Boil about 10 seconds.
Remove 1 almond with a slotted spoon. Press on one end of almond with your thumb and index finger; almond will come out of its skin. If it does not, boil them a few more seconds and try again. When almonds can be peeled easily, drain them and peel the rest.
Spread blanched almonds in a layer on shallow trays or dishes lined with towels or paper towels to dry, and put towels on top of almonds as well. Pat them dry.