Fesenjoon
This is a rich, decadent stew, rolled out for special guests and served at weddings. It is said to have originated from Gilan, an agrarian province of Iran by the Caspian Sea and is traditionally made with duck, although most people in Iran today make it with chicken. I like to serve it with some thick slices of grilled aubergine and sometimes even make it with tempeh (a nutty textured Indonesian fermented tofu) which is perfect for vegans and veggies. Not my grandmother though, she was a Fesenjoon traditionalist and I remember sitting with her, cross-legged on her kitchen floor, helping her pluck the feathers from a fresh local duck to prepare it for the stew. She would simmer the walnuts with fresh pomegranate molasses she made herself from the pomegranates that grew on her land and walnuts picked from the towering walnut trees that surrounded her house.
Carrot, cardamom and rosewater jam
Many Iranians will tell you that breakfast is their favourite meal of the day and no matter how early people have to get up (and Iran is a nation of pre-dawn risers), taking time to enjoy the first meal of the day is considered essential. Aromatic carrot jams are very popular throughout Iran and the natural sweetness of carrots lend themselves perfectly to a sweet preserve, delicious eaten with some buttered bread or with a chunk of feta or ricotta. Roses are indigenous to Iran, and the process of distilling the essential oils from the flowers to make perfume and rosewater was first developed in Iran over 2000 years ago. Today rosewater is used not only in cooking but also therapeutically as a remedy people for any number of ailments from insect bites to headaches. As the strengths of different brands will vary, it is best to err on the side of caution when adding rosewater to recipes as just a little bit too much of it can leave a chalky taste in your mouth. Use less rather than more until you are confident it won’t be overwhelming.
Aashe-e Reshte
A thick legume, noodle and herb soup, aashe-e reshte is popular all over Iran and every city will have a number of cafés dedicated solely to making it. Like most Iranian soups it is robust and filling, a heart-warming concoction of chickpeas, lentils, chives, dill and spinach, perhaps with a little bit of lamb and cooked in some good quality broth. When I was in Isfahan I tucked into a particularly delicious version of this soup in the walled gardens of the Abbasi Hotel, a 300-year-old former roadside inn which is reportedly the world’s oldest hotel. Sitting in Abbasi’s grand central courtyard at dusk, amid the blossoming trees and trickling fountains, it was hard not to be transported back to that distant era where this soup would no doubt have been the perfect comfort food to replenish the weary traveller. In Iran, Aash-e Reshte is usually served with a small drizzle of kashk, an umami flavoured fermented whey which tastes a bit like salted goats cheese. You can find kashk in Middle Eastern stores but if you can't find any then natural yoghurt is also commonly used as a topping for this dish.