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.
Hot or cold, for breakfast, lunch, or dinner—things don’t get much more versatile than this fiber-filled frittata. Mix up the veggies to keep it seasonal and interesting for endless weekday options. It’s earned a regular spot on my menu.
The trick to these spiced skewers is to cook the aubergine and tomato separately, as they have different cooking times. In edible terms, there is little worse than undercooked aubergine – be sure to get them cooking first so they have a head start.
Recipe introduction by Sally Swift for our Weeknight Kitchen newsletter. Sign up to get wonderful new recipes direct to your inbox every Wednesday.
Maqluba (Upside Down Layered Rice Cake with Vegetables) recipe and introduction from Lamees Dahbour of Mama Lamees
A roasted, stuffed eggplant with a crown of shredded cheese is a thing of beauty and makes an appealing and satisfying entrée.
Ingredients
Francis originally published this recipe in a post for Salon. As with his recipe for Ginger Scallion Sauce, his exuberant and unusual approach to recipe writing makes it sing. As does the accompanying video.
Smoking aubergines allows the flesh to absorb a deep smokiness, giving incredible depth to a dish.
Slice the Asian eggplants (if using) lengthwise into quarters, keeping the stem intact so that it holds the eggplant together. Heat the oil in a wok until almost smoking, then turn the heat down to medium and fry the eggplants well, turning occasionally. Do not burn. Transfer the eggplants to a baking dish. Cook under a preheated medium broiler for 20 minutes, turning the eggplants halfway through.