Recipe: Persian lamb stew with pomegranate and almonds

November 2, 9:55 AMLA Cooking ExaminerErika Kerekes

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Los Angeles has the best Persian food in the U.S., and every Persian restaurant makes a version of fesenjan, the classic stew with lamb or chicken, ground walnuts, and pomegranate. It's a perfect fall and winter dish - hearty, rich, flavorful, and very easy to put together. To make it even simpler, this version uses ground almond meal from Trader Joe's instead of the traditional walnuts, which are hard to grind finely at home without ending up with walnut butter. Persian markets carry concentrated pomegranate syrup or paste, but POM Wonderful pomegranate juice is available in most grocery stores and gives the same depth of flavor with this dish's long, slow cooking.

More hearty fare: Black bean soup with spicy chorizo sausage * Chicken with garlic and smoked paprika * Lemon raisin chicken

Persian lamb pomegranate stew with ground almonds (Fesenjan)

• 2 cups Trader Joe's ground almond meal
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 lbs lamb stew meat, cut into chunks (can substitute boneless skinless chicken thighs)
• salt and pepper
• 2 large onions, diced
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 3 cups POM Wonderful pomegranate juice
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• fresh pomegranate seeds, for garnish (optional)

In a large nonstick pan, heat the almond meal over medium heat. Shake the pan so the nuts don't burn. As soon as you start to smell the almonds, remove the pan from the heat and scrape the ground nuts into a bowl to cool. Toasting the almond meal enhances the flavor of the nuts and will make a richer stew.

Season the lamb with salt and pepper. In a large pot, heat the oil and brown the lamb cubes on all sides. Remove the lamb to a plate. Add the onions to the pot and saute 3-4 minutes, until the onions are softened. Add the cinnamon, coriander and cayenne and saute for 1 minute. Add the pomegranate juice and ground almonds, bring the mixture to a boil, turn down the heat, cover the pot, and simmer the stew gently 2-3 hours, or until it is thickened and the meat is tender. If the stew seems thin after 2 hours, uncover the pot and let it cook the rest of the way without a lid.

Serve with rice or couscous.