Minimalist Baker's Lentil Fesenjān (Pomegranate Walnut Stew)

One of my Spanish professors this semester is visiting from Argentina, where they're currently experiencing summer, and I gotta give her kudos for braving Cornell's winter. She arrived a week before our -20*F days! When the sun's rays finally peaked out and kissed our window, she jumped up to celebrate. Profesora comes in everyday with a weather report (in Celsius, of course), and I always leave her class with a cheshire cat grin plastered on my face. She's incredibly accomplished, so sitting next to her in our small class of 6 students keeps me in awe. No matter how regular our conversations before class are, I marvel at how personable she is - she, too, loves walks in nature, and you bet your bottom dollar I gave her a list of "bucketlist" places to visit during her semester here. 

The recipe I'm sharing in this blogpost is adapted from Minimalist Baker's Vegan Lentil Fesenjān. Dana, the mastermind behind Minimalist Baker, couldn't have titled her blog more appropriately. Minimalist Baker's brand is marked by its simple, fuss-free and feel-good recipes. I, on the other hand, tend to further minimize recipes out of laziness or frugality, so here's my take on Dana's Fesenjān. I've also rearranged some cooking steps to help maximize this stew's depth of flavor.

This flavorful-while-simple recipe makes me think of my wonderful professor - someone who's renowned in her field, well-rounded (I've never taken a physics class and here I am, recalling thermodynamics and "entropy" from previous P-Chem units, in a contemporary Spanish literature and art class), and pure genius, but at the very core, is wonderfully human and down to earth. Esta receta es para ti, Profesora! 

Lentil Fesenjān (Pomegranate Walnut Stew)
From: Minimalist Baker


1 cup raw walnuts
2 tablespoons unsulphured molasses*
2 tablespoons olive oil*
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 cup of dried red lentils*
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1" piece of ginger, grated or finely minced*

1 tablespoon maple syrup
2.5 cups of vegetable broth 

salt and black pepper, to taste

pomegranate arils and fresh chopped parsley, to taste

Place a frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the walnuts and toast until fragrant and golden brown (about 5-10 minutes). Be sure to stir the walnuts around and shake the pan a few times each minute to prevent burning. 

Once the walnuts are toasted, set them aside until they're cool to touch. Add walnuts to a food processor and pulse into a coarse meal. Reserve 1/4 cup of the walnuts and pulse the remainder into a fine meal. 

In a soup pot over medium heat, add the oil. When the oil is warmed through (sizzles when something is dropped in), add the onions and cook until soft and translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 

Add the lentils, turmeric, cinnamon, and ginger. Stir for 1-2 minutes to intensify the flavor of the spices. Add the vegetable broth and maple syrup. Cook uncovered for about 20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender, stirring occasionally. 

Add the molasses and walnut meal. Simmer on low for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed and garnish with pomegranate arils and freshly chopped parsley. Serve as it is, with basmati rice, or with toasted naan!

*denotes deviations from original recipe