Recipe: Persian Chicken and Prune Stew (Khoresh Aloo)

Persians have mastered the art of combining meat with fruit. Coming from someone who never really cared for the two together, I can tell you that Persians do it well and this dish is a prime example.

If you're squirming from the sound of prunes and chicken in stew form, let me try to describe it to you before you decide you're gonna hate it. The base is sweet, tangy and almost candy like. The chicken combined with the slow cooked onions, and some salt + pepper provide the savory elements needed to give it the sweet/salty phenomenon (but more on the sweet side). Serve this stew on a bed of fluffy basmati rice and you've got something that will satisfy your tastebuds in a totally different way.

This recipe calls for pomegranate paste, which is a thick molasses-like paste made of pomegranate concentrate. You can find this at your local Persian grocery/specialty store.

Persian Chicken and Prune Stew (Khoresh Aloo)
- 2 cups of prunes
- 1-2 chicken breasts, cut into 2.5 inch strips (depends on how much meat you want)
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 cups of water
- 2 Tbsp of pomegranate paste
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. In an oiled pan, saute the onions until translucent (about 2-3 minutes). Add the  chicken and saute for 3 minutes until partially cooked and lightly brown on the outside.

2. Add the water and prunes. Bring the water to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes, covered with the lid on. Add more water part way through if necessary. If the heat is too high, the water may evaporate.

3. While simmering, uncover the stew and with a spatula, mash up 1/4 of the prunes so that it helps form a thick sauce. Add 2 Tbsp of pomegranate sauce, salt and pepper to taste, and mix well. Turn off the heat and serve hot.

You can use any type of chicken you want. Feel free to use all dark meat or mix it with both white and dark. If you prefer a more meaty stew, go ahead and add more chicken to the recipe.

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Persian Yellow Plum Stew (Khoresh Aloo)

This dish is one of my favorite Persian dishes, and is best enjoyed in the summer time. It is a stew made of fresh herbs and yellow plums, all of which taste the best in the summer months.

Persians love their food sour, which is why I call for semi-ripe plums and why I don't have an exact measurement in the recipe. If you prefer your food sweeter, I would suggest either using ripe plums or more sugar. For me, 2 Tablespoons of sugar was good enough.

Yellow plums are typically harvested June - Sept, and are about the size of golf balls. They are very sour when unripe, but very sweet with a honey like taste when ripe.

This stew calls for A LOT of fresh herbs. Our local grocery store sells Italian parsley for cheap but that's not always the case depending on where you live. Alternatively, you can grow your own herbs, which is very easy to do.

Mint grows like weeds in our garden, so I make a lot of dishes that incorporate mint in the summer time. I'll even stuff them in my sandwiches just because I can!

This recipe yields 4-6 servings.

Persian Yellow Plum Stew (Khoresh Aloo)
- 25 semi-ripe yellow plums
- 3/4 lbs stewing beef or good quality steak cut in 1 inch cubes
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 8 cups of fresh Italian parsley, loosely packed and finely chopped
- 3 cups of fresh mint , loosely packed and finely chopped
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 1/2 cups of water
- salt
- pepper
- 2-4 Tbsp sugar

Method
1. In a lightly oiled pot, saute the onions until translucent. Add in the beef, turmeric and few shakes of salt and pepper, and saute until the beef is 3/4 of the way cooked.

2. Turn the heat down to a simmer. Add in the water, Italian parsley, mint, 1/4 tsp of salt, and simmer for 60 minutes with the lid on. Stir occasionally. Add in the plums and simmer until the plums have cooked and have fallen off the pit (approx 10 minutes). Remove the pits, add sugar, and stir gently. Serve hot with basmati rice.

I say to gently stir at the end because Persians like to see chunks of plum in their stew. CK and I like it more on the mushy side, so I probably stirred a bit more than I should have.

This is definitely is not a typical stew, and you need to develop an acquired taste for it. But honestly, get past the fact that you are eating plums for dinner, and embrace it! As I said, it is one of my favorite Persian dishes.

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Trout Stuffed with Prunes and Pomegranate

I've never been a fan of mixing meat with fruit. I've always believed that the two should be kept separate...until I started eating Persian food, that is. This dish combines fruit with fish, and if you are one of those meat/fruit haters like I used to be, believe me when I say this dish is good!

This healthy fish dish is baked with a prune, raisin, and pomegranate sauce stuffing. The pomegranate sauce adds a nice tangy flavor, and the herbs in the sauce provide texture. My mother-in-law likes to serve this dish with a dill + fava bean rice that pairs perfectly.

Pomegranate sauce can be found in most Persian grocery stores. It is a thick paste that is made purely from pomegranate juice. The pomegranate juice is reduced to create a molasses-like texture, and the paste is very dark in color.

This recipe yields 4 - 6 servings.

Trout Stuffed with Prunes and Pomegranate
- 2 trout fillets of equal size, approx 10 inches long and 0.6 kg total
- 1 cup of curly parsley, finely chopped
- 2 scallions, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup of pomegranate sauce
- 1/2 cup of prunes & sultana raisins combined (2 parts prune + 1 part raisin), roughly chopped
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F/175 C.

2. In a pan with some olive oil, sautee the parsley and scallions for 2 minutes. Add in the pomegranate sauce, prunes, raisins, a dash of salt + pepper, and sautee for 5 minutes. Set aside.

3. In a large baking dish, lay one trout fillet with skin facing down. Spread the pomegranate mixture evenly over top of the trout fillet. Place the second trout fillet on top of the mixture with skin facing up. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes. Remove from oven, remove the fish skin, and serve.

The picture below shows four trout fillets. Simply double the recipe to feed more mouths.

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