Sluttishly Savoury: Chicken Fesenjan

It's party night tonight (the launch of the Domestic Sluttery book - WOOT!) and what better to serve on party night than this decadent Persian dish. Traditionally served at special occasions in Iran, it's sweet, sour and a little bit different, but also dead easy to make. You can make it with duck or pheasant, but even plain old chicken tastes pretty damn good once it's dressed up in a pomegranate and walnut sauce.

I found pomegranate molasses in the fancy section of my local Sainsbury's. If you can't get hold of any, you can always make your own from pomegranate juice, sugar and lemon. And if I hadn't been so busy stressing about what to wear tonight I think I would also have strewn it with fresh pomegranate seeds.

Chicken Fesenjan (serves 2)

You'll need:

• 3 or 4 chicken thighs, skin on and bone in
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 100g walnuts, ground in a food processor
• 1tbsp tomato puree
• 250ml chicken stock
• 60ml pomegranate molasses
• 1tbsp sugar 
• Lemon juice (optional)

Make it!

• Fry the chicken thighs skin side down in a non-stick pan until they are browned. You shouldn't need any oil or butter. Turn them over to seal the other side, then set aside the chicken and discard most of the chicken fat.
• Add the onion and cinnamon to the pan and cook for around 10 minutes until the onion is soft.
• Add the walnuts and tomato puree and cook for another couple of minutes.
• Add the chicken back to the pan along with the chicken stock, pomegranate molasses and sugar. 
• Bring to the boil, then simmer for 40 minutes until the chicken is tender and the sauce is nice and thick.
• Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice, and serve with a big heap of fluffy rice (or if it's the night before the party, a healthy heap of oven roasted courgettes as in my photo).