Disclaimer: This dish is not cute.
But believe me when I tell you it’s f—ing delicious. So good, in fact, that my husband, Ham, who is an absolute sweet potato hater (I know, he’s weird. He also hates soup.), couldn’t get enough of it. My days of eating sweet potatoes alone are over. (Note to self: Develop a sweet potato soup recipe Ham loves, and maybe the universe will heal itself?)
This is another recipe (like the Kale & Sausage Pot Pie) that I’ve been sitting on for weeks because I get insecure about posting ugly recipes. Sure, you could scatter over some pomegranate seeds, maybe some parsley sprigs if you really want, but it simply doesn’t need it. And I’m not about to make you buy a 5 dollar pomegranate unless you need it.
Lately, I’ve become frustrated with recipe development. There’s a lot of pressure to create dishes that look good and sound good that it’s easy for taste to take a back seat. I recently posted a recipe for a truly delicious Sofrito Chicken Meatball Soup. It was perfect as is, but I still added sprigs of parsley and the oh-so-trendy-right-now spice oil for the internet—but the internet was not pleased. Here’s the response:
“Disgusting yall cap”
“That looks like my diarrhea but ok”
“Resident evil food be like”
“Ts looks like smith a cat would throw up”
“go to jail”
Thanks for the engagement, I guess? All this hate because I forgot a very important internet rule: All Meat Must Be Seared. I poached the meatballs in the soup so they stayed delicate and tender even though they’re made from lean chicken. I made a decision that made the dish taste better but look worse. I’m not sure it was the right choice. Out of the 4.7 million views the video recieved between Tik Tok and Instgram, I could probably count on one hand the folks who actually made it, because recipes don’t always seem to be meant for cooking anymore.
When I started cooking most cookbooks didn’t even have pictures. Would Julia Child’s coq au vin with it’s brown on brown on brown vibe become a classic today? Most of the dishes I make on Ancient Recipes often sound terrible and look even worse, but are remarkably delicious (yes, even the jellied fish lips and tongues). Of course they are. Why else would you bother to write down a recipe at a time when it was tough to write stuff down? Okay, I’ll stop before I have an existential crisis.
This recipe is inspired by fesenjān, an Iranian stew that’s sweet and sour from pomegranate molasses, spiced with cinnamon and black pepper, and hearty from walnuts. I’ve expressed my love for this dish in the past with my recipe for Pomegranate & Black Pepper Chicken Wings.
Once you get your hands on pomegranate molasses (or make some by simmering down pomegranate juice until thick like honey) I think you should go forth and fesenjān everything. You know how we all cacio e pepe everything? (Risotto, pizza, gougeres, popcorn, biscuits…) Fesenjān can be everywhere too. What food isn’t improved with sweet, sour, and spice? I predict a future filled with fesenjān lasagna, braised greens, dip, tacos, and so much more. Let’s start with these ugly-ass sweet potatoes.
Sweet Potatoes à la Fesenjān
serves 2 | active time: 35 minutes | total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
INGREDIENTS
ghee or neutral oil
2 medium sweet potatoes (about 20 ounces)
½ cup raw walnuts, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon turmeric
2 cups high quality chicken bone broth
3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
Heat a medium, heavy skillet over medium heat. Meanwhile, cut the sweet potatoes into quarters, cutting them in half lengthwise and again crosswise.
Add enough fat to coat the bottom of the skillet evenly, then sear the cut sides of the sweet potatoes, using another skillet or spatula to firmly press them against the pan, until charred in spots, 5 to 7 minutes. (Cook in batches if needed.) Remove from heat, transfer the sweet potatoes to a plate; set aside.
Add the nuts to the skillet and toast over low heat, stirring constantly, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat, transfer nuts to a plate, and season with kosher salt; set aside.
Add enough fat to coat the bottom of the skillet and return to medium heat. Add the onion, a big pinch of kosher salt, and cook, stirring frequently, until wilted and charred in places, about 10 minutes.
Add pepper, cinnamon, turmeric and cook, stirring constantly, until aromatic, 1 minute. Add broth, increase heat to high, and bring to a boil. Taste and add salt as needed. Arrange sweet potatoes in the skillet in one even layer, reduce the heat to a bare simmer, and cover with a lid left slightly ajar. Cook until the broth has reduced into a glaze and the sweet potatoes are tender, about 40 minutes. (If the sweet potatoes aren’t tender but the broth has simmered away, add a splash of water and keep cooking.)
Transfer to a platter, drizzle over pomegranate molasses, sprinkle with nuts, and serve.
Uh this looks delicious and the people who say it looks bad don’t deserve to eat it. Most of the coziest, filling, most delicious food doesn’t look “IG perfect” and most folks are okay with that! They can go eat nonsense if they want😂
A lot of my favorite foods look completely like bowls of mush because I love Nutritious Pastes, that are usually a bowl of grain and legume and probably cabbage. I know they are amazing and that’s what matters