Khoresht Fesenjan e Bademjan Recipe - Eggplant, Walnut & Pomegranate Stew

A delicious vegetarian stew that will warm and delight you. Photo / Nico Schinco

An impressive (and vegetarian) spin on a classic Persian dish from Leila Heller’s inspiring new recipe compendium.

Fesenjan is a sweet and sour winter dish from the Caspian region. It is traditionally made with duck, cooked in a walnut-pomegranate sauce, and served over rice.

Here is Nazzy Beglari’s vegetarian version of that dish, prepared with eggplant (aubergine) rather than duck. Nahid Joon was so impressed that she began preparing it for her vegetarian and vegan friends.

Persian Feasts: Recipes & Stories From A Family Table by Leila Heller, with co-authors Lila Charif, Laya Khadjavi and Bahar Tavakolian, $70, published by Phaidon.

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