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Savory uses for Pomegranate


Shalmanese

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The local fruit stall has small pomegranates for 10 cents a pop (about the size of an apple) which is too cheap not for me to take advantage. To me, pomegranates have always been at least $2 a fruit and were usually savoured so I'm thrilled at having access to cheap pomegranates. I snagged a dozen of them and I think I'm going to grab some more tomorrow.

So far, I've decided I'm going to sorbet some, Make a jelly out of some others, and then simply freeze the juice of a bunch in ice-cube trays and figure out what to do with them later.

However, this article on Leites Culinaria contained a recipe for pomegranate/pepper glazed game hen and reminded me that pomegranate is also used for savoury dishes in the middle east.

A quick search of the forums revealed this thread which shows an excellent way of deseeding the fruit and this thread which has an excellent recipe for Khoresht-E-Fesenjan

(Chicken, Walnuts & Pomegranate) but I'm wondering what other dishes containing pomegranate fellow egulleteers have cooked.

Any suggestions?

PS: I am a guy.

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i've used pom seeds in feta/chicory/fennel/couscous salads. these beautiful seeds always look stunning in any food. use the concerntrated sauce with red wine for steaks, without red wine for lamb, also try making a pom sauce with balsamic vinegar to glaze chicken or pork. works great on grilled fish too, simply add some mustard and seasoning. one of these days i'm going to try making a cranberry sauce with pom seeds. as someone mentions above, use the juice to marinate kebabs. the enzymes also act as a tenderiser next to adding flavours.

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I mix pomegranate molasses, cinnamon, grainy dijon mustard, pine nuts, onion, raw rice and minced meat and stuff either an aubergine or a butternut squash that I have pre-roasted. Pour a can of crushed tomatoes and a cup of water on top and bake for 30 - 45 minutes in 350F/180C oven.

I mix pomegranate molasses and HP sauce and pour it over chicken wings and bake it in the oven.

I put pomegranate seeds on my salad.

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Chiles en nogada (chilis in walnut sauce) is the only savory use I've used the seeds in. Now I'm thinking that they might be welcome in a salsa with homemade tortilla chips.

Shelley: Would you like some pie?

Gordon: MASSIVE, MASSIVE QUANTITIES AND A GLASS OF WATER, SWEETHEART. MY SOCKS ARE ON FIRE.

Twin Peaks

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Rick Tramonto's cookbook "Tru" has a great recipe for pomegranate-lacquered duck breasts. I made it last week and it came out great. Like other recipes in this thread it calls for pomegranate juice, and while I like the commercially-made stuff, I would imagine that fresh juice would be much better.

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Wonderful suggestions thus far.

I recently looked through a book that I suspect you'd love. Just thinking back to some of your interesting combinations in the Tapas-dessert challenge as well as your own posts elsewhere, I get the impressiont you'd have fun with it. Klary, are you reading this? It was written for you, too: Silk Road Cooking, a vegetarian cookbook by a truly gifted expert on Persian cooking. (The author shops at my farmer's market and I helped in a chef's demo in conjunction with the publication. Delicious.) While all of her books are eye-openers--at least for me--this one is not only beautiful to look at, but it's full of interesting flavors to combine with produce, including pomegranates. For the recipes that don't list eggs, Batmanglij offers accommodations for vegans.

Salads have already been mentioned. I bought a cucumber, lime and daikon to make two. For Shirazi Cucumber & Pom salad, thinly slice onion and leave it in a sieve, salted to drain to lose sharpness (I usually do this by soaking instead). Combine onion with seedless cucumber and pomegranate seeds. Make a dressing with a crushed clove of garlic, 1 T lime juice, 1 T pom paste (I'm subbing pom molasses that I learned to make from one of Paula Wolfert's books), 1/4 t chili paste or flakes, 2 t honey, 1 t toasted sesame oil, plus S & P to taste. This is all for 1/2 c EVOO. Dress the three main ingredients and serve on bed of lettuce. Sprinkle with feta and walnuts*, if so desired. * * * The daikon is for a salad in which it's shredded along with a roughly equal amount of carrot and sprinkled with the seeds. Simple dressing includes white wine or Champagne vinegar.

As the cover of the book indicates, poms are good with perfumed rice dishes. The Azerbajani Pom & Spinach Soup looks good, but the Kermeni Pistachio Soup with pom seeds, even better.

From a web site devoted to Asian food, here's the author's recipe for yet another Pomegranate Soup, this with yellow split peas, ground lamb and mint. You may find other recipes here, too.

*You'll find a recipe on one of these two sites for a rice salad made with walnuts that are sautéed in grape molasses. I bet the same thing can be done with pomegranate molasses.

"Viciousness in the kitchen.

The potatoes hiss." --Sylvia Plath

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I have made pork tenderloin glazed with a reduction of pomegranate molasses, sugar, and a few cloves, which I garnished with pomegranate seeds and pistachios. I served this on a bed of pureed parsnips. (I was doing a letter "p" themed dinner for a friend.) The contrast between the somewhat sour pomegranate and sweet parsnip was very nice.

I've also made Khoresht-E-Fesenjan, which is very good.

I made the above mentioned pork dish twice in a week (trial run and then for the dinner). I then made Khoresht-E-Fesenjan with leftover pomegranate. It could be that we're just particularly susceptible to flavour overdoses, but nobody in my house wanted to touch pomegranates for several months after the third pomegranate meal.

Edited by Khadija (log)
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I made a really delicious Brisket Braised with pomegranate juice and an onion confit a few weeks ago. I love brisket and serve it often. This one was really good. However I did not care for the onion confit. In the future I will serve it with pomegranate seeds instead. When I made the brisket I subbed celery root for the celery and really liked the change. It made the sauce thicker.

Robin

Pomegranate-Braised Brisket With Onion Confit (This was published in the Baltimore Sun on November 8)

Serves 8 to 12

3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

1 brisket (about 6 pounds), trimmed of excess fat, wiped with a damp paper towel and patted dry

2 medium onions, coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)

2 leeks, white and pale-green parts, washed well and coarsely chopped

6 garlic cloves, crushed

2 large carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 celery rib with leaves, coarsely chopped

2 cups pomegranate juice (divided use)

2 cups chicken broth

3 thyme sprigs or 2 teaspoons dried thyme

2 rosemary sprigs

2 bay leaves

salt and freshly ground pepper

Onion Confit (see recipe)

Heat the oil in a large, heavy roasting pan or a wide 6-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat, using two burners if necessary. Add the brisket and brown well on both sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer the brisket to a platter and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat in the pan and add the onions, leeks, garlic, carrots and celery. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, 5 to 7 minutes.

Add 1 cup of the pomegranate juice and bring the mixture to a boil, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Boil until the liquid is reduced by about half. Add the remaining cup of pomegranate juice, the broth, thyme, rosemary and bay leaves and bring the mixture to a simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Lightly salt and pepper the brisket on both sides. Add it to the pan, fat side up, and add any juices that may have dripped from the meat onto the platter. Spoon the vegetable mixture over the meat.

Cover the pan tightly and slide it into the oven to braise, basting every half-hour, until the meat is very tender, 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours. If the liquid in the pot begins to bubble rapidly, reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees - it should be a slow simmer. Meanwhile, make the Onion Confit.

Transfer the brisket to a cutting board and cover loosely with aluminum foil. For the gravy, strain the braising liquid, discarding the thyme, rosemary sprigs and bay leaves and reserving the vegetables. Skim and discard as much fat as possible from the surface of the liquid.

Puree the vegetables and 1 cup of the degreased braising liquid in a food processor or blender. Transfer the pureed mixture and the remaining braising liquid to a skillet over high heat and reduce the gravy to the desired consistency. Taste for seasoning.

Cut the brisket into thin slices across the grain at a slight diagonal. Spread the Onion Confit on a serving platter and arrange the sliced brisket on top. Ladle over the hot gravy and serve.

From "The 150 Best American Recipes," by Fran McCullough and Molly Stevens

Per serving (based on 12 servings): 478 calories, 50 grams protein, 17 grams fat, 5 grams saturated fat, 22 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams fiber, 97 milligrams cholesterol, 244 milligrams sodium

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Onion Confit

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 large onions (about 2 1/2 pounds), very thinly sliced

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/4 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

Heat the oil in a 10-inch to 12-inch skillet over low heat. Add the onions, season lightly with salt and pepper and toss to coat with the oil. Cook, tightly covered, over the lowest heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very soft and brown, about 1 hour.

Season with salt and pepper to taste and add the wine and broth. Increase the heat and boil, uncovered and stirring frequently, until all the liquid is evaporated and the onions are deeply colored, 4 to 8 minutes.

Taste again for seasonings -- the confit tends to take a bit of salt. Turn off the heat, cover and keep warm. Stir in the pomegranate seeds just before serving.

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We made a pomegranate lacquered turkey this year - recipe called for fresh pom juice, good turkey stock, and red currant jelly (for the lacquer effect, I suppose) - we added to the flavor by rubbing a butter mixture under the turkey skin by blending together butter, fresh pom juice, orange zest, kosher salt, roasted garlic and a little cayenne/chipotle pepper for some kick. Unfortunately I made the butter whilst drinking a sidecar or two, so I have no idea what the proportions were - we just mixed stuff in until the butter "tasted good". The turkey was a beautiful dark glossy red, and the butter under the skin gave it good flavor. Made a kick-ass gravy from the drippings.

...wine can of their wits the wise beguile, make the sage frolic, and the serious smile. --Alexander Pope

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I love the previously mentioned khorest-e fasenjan, with either duck or chicken.

And salads, like mache, pink grapefruit, and pomegranate with champagne vinagrette.

Gourmet/Epicurious has a nice, though complicated, pomegranate gravy.

This Pomegranate Eggplant Relish is excellent.

And this isn't savory, but I love to simply coat little bunches of pomegranate seeds in chocolate. When you bite into the chocolates to pomegranate juices burst nicely.

Did you know pomegranate seeds are called arils?

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Mmm... battening down the hatches, the snow is here.

Made a Braised Beef Shortribs with cumin, pomegranate juice and a bit of honey:

stew2.jpg

I have a lamb shank, some walnuts and some more pomegranates. Going to try the khorest-e fasenjan this weekend.

Edited by Shalmanese (log)

PS: I am a guy.

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Beautiful, Pille.

There's a Lebanese restaurant in my neighborhood. When in season,

FATTEH BEL DJAJE

seasoned chunks of chicken breast layered over chick peas on toasted Lebanese bread, smothered with warm yogurt sauce, pine nuts and garlic

is served with pomegranate seeds sprinkled over the top instead of pine nuts. The color against the white yogurt is stunning.

"Viciousness in the kitchen.

The potatoes hiss." --Sylvia Plath

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Pomegranate seeds banged over the top of a Lamb, Mint and Fetta Salad is something I dont tire of! Nice with venison also.

If you have a surfeit of the fruit, freeze the seeds. I have kept them for over 6 months in an airtight bag without much loss of quality.

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I have made pork tenderloin glazed with a reduction of pomegranate molasses, sugar, and a few cloves, which I garnished with pomegranate seeds and pistachios.

I've made a similar glaze for pork tenderloin with minced garlic and 1 or 2 stemmed/seeded chipotles in adobe blended in. Great flavor.

Also, for an app, I've made this version of muhammara many times. If I recall correctly, Paula Wolfert has a very similar recipe in one of her books.

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I really like grilled, fried or roasted eggplant slices, topped with crumbled sheep milk feta, lots of chopped fresh mint, and the juice of 1 pomegranate and a little olive oil drizzled over, with a few reserved pomegranate seeds scattered over the top.

Edited by rarerollingobject (log)
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