Eggplant Fesenjan

The Iranian festival of Yalda takes place on the winter solstice and is an evening spent sharing poetry and snacking on red fruits such as pomegranates, which symbolize the crimson hues of the sun rising after the longest night. Fesenjan, a sumptuous sweet-and-sour stew made with ground walnuts and pomegranate molasses, is often cooked for this celebration. It is cooked low and slow, and you can tell that it is ready when the nuts release their oils and you see a clear slick of oil sitting on top of the sauce. The timing is dependent on the variety of walnuts you use, so if you’ve reached the end of the suggested cooking time and the oils haven’t released yet, give it another 30 minutes to an hour until they do. Golpar is an earthy, citrusy spice you can source online or in Iranian stores, though you can also make the dish without. Serve the stew with white rice, radishes, and an Everyday Middle Eastern Chopped salad (page 85, Sabzi) or a or a plate of Sabzi Khordan (page 110, Sabzi).

Serves 4

Sabzi: Vibrant Vegetarian Recipes Yasmin Khan

INGREDIENTS

• 11 ounces (300 g) walnuts

• 5 cups (1.2 L) cold water

• 5 ice cubes

• ½ cup (120 mL) pomegranate molasses, plus more to taste

• 1 ½ tablespoons tomato paste

• 2 teaspoons sugar, plus more to taste

• ¾ teaspoon golpar

• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

EGGPLANT

• 3 medium eggplants, quartered and cut into thick wedges

• ¼ cup (60 mL) olive oil

• Salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Grind the walnuts as finely as possible in a food processor. Add 1 cup (240 mL) water and blend again until a smooth paste forms.

2. Transfer the walnuts to a large saucepan and pour over 4 cups (960 mL) cold water. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer. Stir until the walnut paste completely dissolves, then simmer, partially covered, for 2 hours. Stir occasionally to make sure the walnuts don’t stick to the bottom.

3. Add the ice cubes and bring back to a simmer. Stir in the pomegranate molasses, tomato paste, sugar, golpar, cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt, and a generous grind of pepper until well combined. Cover and cook for another 1 ½ hours, removing the lid for the last 30 minutes of cooking to allow the sauce to thicken. Season to taste with more sugar (for sweet) or pomegranate molasses (for sour)—you want a balance of both.

4. While the walnuts are cooking, preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.

5. Arrange the eggplant on a large baking sheet, brush it with the olive oil, and season with ¾ teaspoon salt on both sides. Roast for 30 minutes, or until it is completely soft.

6. When the stew is ready, carefully transfer the roasted eggplant to the pan with the stew and heat through gently for 5 minutes.

Excerpted from Sabzi: Vibrant Vegetarian Recipes. Copyright ©2025 by Yasmin Khan. Used with permission of the publisher, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.

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