A Special Recipe from The Paleo Slow Cooker

Hi All! We are taking a much needed vacation, after a very fun and busy year. We are going to try to be a little unplugged while we are in Kauai, but we will still be using instagram. It’s hard to completely unplug when our families text us daily demanding a new picture of Indyanna :).  If you want to see what we are eating and what our little grems is up to, follow me on instagram. I have lined up some of my favorite fellow bloggers to share some delicious and healthy recipes with you next week. Thanks so much to Natalie, Michelle & Stephanie! Make sure to check out their blogs, when you have a few minutes.

In celebration of Persian New Year, I want to share one of my favorite recipes from The Paleo Slow Cooker. Persian New Year is called Nowruz, meaning “New Day”. It marks the first day of spring and the beginning of the year in the Iranian calendar. I think it is on March 20th this year, at least that is what Dr. Google tells me!

As you all know, I am Armenian (fact: Armenians LOVE to talk about how they are Armenian), but my parents lived in Iran most their lives. I grew up eating more Persian cuisine than Armenian. Growing up, we often celebrated Armenian holidays, Iranian holidays and American ones. Apparently, Armenians love any excuse to party! This is one of my favorite Persian dishes. It has a very strong flavor, people in my family either love it or hate it. I personally love it, so I highly recommend you try it. This version is fairly authentic, but with a few of my own little twists. It was tested by many members of my family and they agreed that it was as good as my aunt’s version. And if you knew how much sugar she puts in hers, you would be quite impressed by this compliment!

Persian Chicken with Pomegranate & Walnut (Fesenjan)
Excerpted from The Paleo Slow Cooker

Serves 6
Ingredients
3½ lbs bone-in, skinless chicken thigh, breasts and legs
1 tsp sea salt
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 tbsp ghee
½ tsp cardamom
¼ tsp cinnamon
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2½ cups water
4 cups walnuts, coarsely ground
2 cups pomegranate juice
1 tbsp honey
¼ tsp, ground saffron
Salt and pepper to taste just before serving
Garnish with fresh pomegranate seeds

Cooking Instructions

1. Pat the chicken with the salt.
2. In a large heavy-bottomed pan, heat 1 tablespoons of ghee over medium heat, brown the chicken on all sides in batches about
3. 5 minutes a batch and set aside.
4. Melt the remaining ghee, and sauté onions until translucent about 5 minutes.
5. Add the cardamom, cinnamon and garlic, and cook another 3 minutes.
6. Add the water, bring to a boil and simmer for 8-10 minutes on low.
7. Add the ground walnuts to pan forming a thick paste.
8. Mix in the chicken add pomegranate juice and honey and mix well.
9. Place mixture from pan and saffron in slow cooker.
10. Cook on low for 4 hours, remove chicken, debone, shred with 2 forks and place back in slow-cooker on high with lid removed for 30 minutes to thicken the sauce.
11. Salt and pepper to taste, then serve.