Persian BBQ Sauce with Duck

Persian ingredients for delicious BBQ duck

Persian BBQ duck with Fesenjun BBQ Sauce

Playing with Persian (Iranian) tastes for today’s Tasting Tuesday. Persian food is such an underrated cuisine that rarely gets the attention it deserves.

With the duck breast getting a gentle smoking on the BBQ before a decent rest period, I used the classic ingredients from Fesenjun / Fesenjan to make a thick BBQ sauce that coats the duck thickly.

Ingredients:

• molasses (3tbs)
• pomegranate purée (6tbs)
• Iranian sour cherries (can be a sour cherry conserve)
• turmeric (1/2 teaspoon)
• cloves (1/4 teaspoon)
• cinnamon  (1 teaspoon)
• black pepper (1/2 teaspoon)
• toasted walnut puree (for almost walnut butter texture - 250ml)
• pureed onions (2 large)
• Stock or water (500ml)

This thick BBQ sauce should completely cover the duck (as per a curry sauce with meat) once it's prepared and still warm. To make the Persian Walnut BBQ sauce:

1. Add some oil to a pan, bring to heat and fry the onion puree till is starts to go slightly brown
2. Add the molasses, pomegranate puree, sour cherries, spices & stock to pan
3. Bring to gentle simmer and add the walnut puree butter
4. Allow to simmer gently for 20-30 minutes stirring regularly

The 'detail' which make the different here is ensure that you toast the walnuts. First puree the walnuts (around 150g) till a fine walnut powder, add to a warm pan and gently roast to bring out the oils. Don't burn the walnuts as they will quickly get bitter. Once toasted in the pan, return to a blender, add a little oil and blend into a toasted walnut butter which is mixed into the other ingredients to cook on the hob for around 20-30 minutes.

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