I noticed this weekend that Just Tomatoes has new-to-me varieties at the grocery store: pomegranate, blackberry, and apricot. I splurged and bought a little tub of pomegranate. According to the packaging, one small 3oz tub is the equivalent of 8 pomegranates.

What do they taste like?

The freeze dried pomegranates look like dried rose hips, being the pretty shade of pink they are. They’re crunchy -still have their seeds inside. They are sweet with a little bit of tang at the end. Their taste is a bit more concentrated, more distinct. In this fruit form they taste a bit more floral than pomegranate juice does.

What can you do with them?

I’m eating them out of hand with almonds- which serve as a nice crunchy mix.
I can easily imagine these being mixed into:

• biscotti,
• homemade granola,
• chocolate bark,
• caramel corn.
• candied nuts
• and being ground up to coat pomegranate truffles!

Check out the recipes on the Just Tomatoes website for their dried pomegranates. From rice pudding, to cole slaw… I think these crunchies are going to find their way into my yogurt and salads.

Wanting the flavors of ceviche with out actually making ceviche is what inspired this jazzed up guacamole. Creamy avocado and mango, with a slight touch of shrimp, and the occasional spark of crunchy pomegranate. All brought together with the sweet tang of rice wine vinegar. Scooping this up with spicy wasabi chips sends my taste buds over the moon.

Fruity Pomegranate Guacamole with Shrimp

Like the best of guacamole recipes, this is a rather free form process. Don’t get hung up on measuring out ingredients. Instead make sure to abide by the chef’s prerogative and sample small bits frequently to see how your flavor develops and progresses.

Add to a pot of salted water:

• shrimp: peel on, one handful

Boil just until pink and drain. Remove the peels and tails (save in the freezer for making shrimp stock) and add to a food processor with:

• sweet onion: roughly chopped, 1/3 – 1/2 cup
• cilantro leaves: 1/4 cup

Briefly process, just until the shrimp are cut up into finger tip sized chunks.

Scoop out the processed shrimp mixture into a mixing bowl. Add to this mixture:

• avocados: large dice, 2
• mango: chunks, 1/3 – 1/2 cup
• pomegranate fruits: 1/3 – 1/2 cup
• mayonnaise: 1-2 Tbs
• lime juice: 1-2 Tbs
• rice wine vinegar: 1/2 -1 1/2 Tbs
• salt: large chunky gourmet salts work wonderful here
• pepper

Stir to combine and adjust the seasoning to taste. Serve with spicy wasabi cracker for an extra spicy sweet kick.

This dip would be wonderful as the base of a sandwich: top with larger wedges of fresh mango, slices of grilled shrimp, large grilled shrimp…
Enjoy!

Waking up this morning to windows streaming in cold winter sun, I set about to looking up recipes and found this easy peasy one on about.com. Sure enough, just grate apples into your spiced up batter! This recipe is lowfat too.

Even better, this recipe lists an accompanying apple cider syrup recipe too. However, only after I measured out my ingredients into the saucepan did I realize I don’t have apple cider-opps. Substituting in the only fruit juice I have, pomegranate juice, made a wonderful variation: spiced pomegranate pancake syrup, that goes wonderfully with these pancakes.

Happy discoveries and a bright shiny breakfast…

Apple Spice Pancakes with Pomegranate Syrup

Pomegranate Syrup
In a saucepan, mix together:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 Tbs cornstarch
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• pinch of salt

Pour in 1 cup of pomegranate juice and whisk over heat till the mixture comes to a boil. Simmer for 1 minute then remove from the heat and add: 1 Tbs butter and 1 Tbs lemon juice.

Apple Spice Pancakes

This recipe is based on dry pancake mix. I like having a batch of Alton Brown’s Pancake Mix around. My last bulk batch of it I made also has 5 vanilla bean pods ground up and added- a flavor addition I highly recommend. The ground up whole beans add color to the resulting batter, making your pancakes look like they are buckwheat based. However, during long term storage of the vanilla’ed pancake mix, the beans have a bit of moisture that is released into the mix and causes it to clump slightly. Just sift out your mix into your mixing bowl and break up the clumps when measuring for recipes.

In a bowl combine

• 2 cups of pancake mix
• 1 tsp cinnamon

In a measuring cup whisk together 1 1/2 cups of milk and 1 whole egg.

Pour this whisked mixture into the pancake mix and stir together for only 5-8 seconds. Grate in one large apple, enough to yield 3/4 cup of shredded apple, and briefly stir. Let the mixture sit while you heat up your pan.

Now’s a good time to size up your batter consistency. I found I had to add more milk to the batter to give it a slight bit of run, to help it spread when added to a hot pan. Gently laddle in pancake batter to your hot skillet or griddle pan and cook pancakes on one side till bubbles form and break open. Flip and cook just 1 minute more.

Garnish with pomegrate syrup, and sliced apples and toasted walnuts for extra credit. Enjoy!

I tasted my first pomegranate chocolate this winter upon visiting the Kitchen Witch at the Eugene Holiday Market. She presented a beautiful display of fruit flavored, and cocktail inspired truffle centered chocolates, each priced for $2. My Mom and I spent some time in front of the booth, nibbling our way through a number of flavors and in the process snaring innocent by-standers into this lair of chocolate.

Kitchen Witch’s Pomegranate Truffle was such a wonderful taste bud surprise… it was tart and distinctly juicy! This was my first introduction to the highly engaging combination of dark chocolate and pomegranate. When placed on the tongue, your whole mouth can’t help but massage itself in a flavor reveling frenzy.

The following recipe attempts to replicate this luscious wet mouthed experience of pomegranate wedded with silky chocolate, and in a vegan (no dairy) way to boot. This flavor bomb would sit awfully pretty in a handmade truffle box, and would serve as a perfect appetizer for your next tongue bath…

Pucker Up Pomegranate Truffles

In a small saucepan heat:

• 3/4 cup pomegranate juice

simmer the juice until its reduced to 1/2 cup.

When mixture is reduced and still hot, remove from heat and add:

• 6 ounces of finely chopped bittersweet chocolate
• 1 tsp of vanilla
• 1-2 drops of orange essential oil, optional

Allow the mixture to sit for 2 minutes, then whisk till the chocolate is fully melted.

Refrigerate till the chocolate mixture is solid, then portion out into balls. I like to use a small one ounce cookie scooper to portion out the chocolate and then cut each ball into thirds or fourths yielding truffles the size of the tip of your thumb. Roll these around in unsweetened cocoa powder for the smoothest truffle or roll them around in crushed dried raspberry or cherry powder.

An extra credit move would be to coat the chilled truffles in a thin layer of tempered chocolate. The chefs notes of Melissa’s recipe for Luscious Thai Curry Chocolate Truffles at gilded fork gives an easy to follow procedure for tempering chocolate.

Tagged with: SHF # 16 + vegan

• Oprah’s Pomegranate Martini
• The View’s Christmas Cheer
• Swank
• Pomegranate Cocktail
• Pomegranate Manhattan
• Pomegranate-Ginger Champagne Cocktail
• Pomegranate with Prosecco
• Rumed Grenade

I was inspired by my Limoncello adventures this last Christmas and decided to continue to spread the joy of fruity alcohol to my friends. Having juicy pomegranates around was enough excuse to start this recipe steeping. Unlike the limoncello, this alcohol’s flavor comes from the juice of the fruit- a large portion of it cooked. The cooking of the juice resulted in a liquor flavor that is deep and almost spicy flavored, with hints of caramel. This would be wonderful served warm, steeped with oranges and cinnamon. A raw version of this libation could be made by combining pomegranate juice, simple syrup and vodka.

Pomegranate Liquor

A week ahead of your liquor’s due date, combine the fruits of one pomegranate with one cup of vodka. Store this is a dark place, and rattle around every day or so. After two days, stick a spoon in there and smoosh up the pomegranate fruits a bit, releasing their juice into the vodka. Continue to bash around every day or so for a week.

Pomegranate Simple Syrup
In a sauce pan combine:

• fruit of 2 pomegranates
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 1/3 cups of water

Gently simmer mixture for 20 minutes. When the sugar has dissolved, and the syrup has simmered a bit, remove from heat and bash open the pomegranate fruits with the back of a spoon. Strain the syrup mixture and allow to completely cool.

Combine with the pomegranate vodka, and add 2 Tbs of Orange Flower Water. Keep refrigerated. Is wonderful in drinks mixed with Triple Sec and fizzy water.

Thai Salad Rolls
The components for these rolls all depend on what you have on hand, or squirreled away in your fridge.

To assemble:

• first make up sauce to spoon into them
• get all the inside bits inline
• then prep the wrappers and wrap

Ok, so maybe this is a bit fussy for de-tox food, but then again, I’m a fussy girl.

Sauce:Tyler Florence’s Tangy Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce
shake or whisk it all together:

• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon red chili paste, such as sambal

Insides: gather together your vegies and whatnots chopped into small bits or ribbons. Here’s a good masterlist to choose from. [I like my rolls to have one sweet component, with one crunchy thing, with one protein, and finally with vegies stuffed in there!]
Sweet Insides:

• pomegranate seeds
• mandarin orange slices
• thinnly sliced bits of grapefruit

Crunchy Insides:

• pistachios
• jicama
• salty peanuts
• deep fried shallots, available in most Asian markets
• deep fried garlic, available in most Asian markets

Protein Insides:

• thinly sliced egg omlet
• marinated tofu bits
• smoked salmon
• thinly sliced up steak
• you know, what ever is around

Vegetable Insides:

• shredded beets
• shredded carrot
• lettuce ribbons
• bits of broccoli
• green onions
• or just pick up toppings from a salad bar

Extra Credit Insides:

• avocado slices
• cilantro sprigs
• mint leaves

Wrappers: the wrappers to use [mine are called Spring Rolls Skin, BÁNH TRÁNG, and have a picture of a rose on the front] are made out of rice flour, are purchased dry, and soaked briefly [couple of seconds] in hot water to make them pliable for wrapping

Assembly:

• take your pliable rice wrapper and place on a flat surface
• place your insides down the middle, as you would a burrito, allowing room for rolling
• drizzle a little of the dipping sauce or just lime juice on top of your insides, and season with salt
• flap the top and bottom over the insides, and roll along the length, containing your goodies in the wrapper

And you’re on your way!

unable to avoid the stuffed feeling comingled with tangy satisfaction as I would amble back to classes.

The ownership of Caspian has seemed to change over the years, and the emphasis of Mediterannean food has shifted a bit to please a more generic college palate. And sadly, my favorite dish disappeared. This was a good lesson in sharing appreciation. I have kicked myself for years, for not having taken the time out of my day to tell the little old man behind the counter how much I appreciated his meals. How could I have been so timid to express my joy?

Years have passed, and availabilities of special food items have changed, and so has my obsession with recreating this special dish evolved. I have gone from using pomegranate molasses, to using the juice, which is now widely available in grocery stores. This recipe is a culmination of on-line research and much tasting. It isn’t the same Fesenjoon I would enjoy sitting in front of Caspian, but it sure is close.

Khoresht-E-Fesenjan

Toast 3/4 cup of walnut pieces.

Add to a blender with:

• 3/4 of a large onion
• 1/2 cup of broth
• two cups of pomegranate juice (the pom-tangerine works really well too, as I imagine the blueberry would)

Blend till the nuts are ground fine.

Brown whatever meat you want to use and pour the blended sauce over.

• My favorite method is making this with country style boneless pork ribs. The traditional methods are making this with chicken, duck, or lamb. I think goat would be good too.

• Cube two pounds of country style boneless ribs into 1 inch cubes. Sprinkle with two tsp of salt. In a hot pan, add 1 Tbs of oil, and allow to get hot. Add cubed pork and sear on all sides till browned and juices have evaporated, taking approximately 15- 20 minutes. Now pour your blended ingredients over the seared meat.

Sprinkle on:

• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• a good pinch of saffron

Stir in either two Tbs of ketchup or two tablespoons of tomato paste with 2 tsp of sugar.

Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer with the lid on for at least one hour.

Remove lid and continue to simmer, allowing sauce to thicken. The longer this cooks the better!

When meat is tender, stir in one Tbs of lemon juice, and possibly add more sugar to taste.

Break up the pork cubes by pressing down on them with the back of a large spoon. I find this shreads them the easy way.

Serve up! I like serving this on saffron rice made with butter and onions, Or just with warm pittas. Also, the leftovers make a great burrito with guacamole.

This recipe is based on the guacamole recipe found at the Pomegranate Council. They are a wonderful resource, that includes helpful tips for wrestling with a pomegranate and some interesting food inclusions.

Pomegranate Guacamole

I feel a little bit silly writing a recipe for guacamole. Making guacamole is nothing like baking, which has some legitimate excuses for preciseness. Preparing your own guacamole is a personal affair of tasting and composition. This recipe is a guideline of flavor levels to begin at (for example I like more lemon in mine that traditional recipes…) and an excuse to include a surprising ingredient of pomegranate seeds in an unlikely place.

In a medium to large bowl, mash:

• two large ripe avacados

Add to mashed avacados:

• 1/3 of a medium onion, grated
• 1 Tbs of pomegranate juice, like Pom- if you don’t want to make your own
• juice of one lime
• one finely diced serrano, deseeded

On your cutting board, scrape together with the side of your knife to form a paste:

• ½tsp of salt, sprinkled on:
• 2 garlic cloves, minced

Add your created garlic paste to guacamole, and finish with:

• 3 Tbs pomegranate seeds
• 2 Tbs chopped cilantro

Now, the most important step: pop a tsp of your guacamole into your mouth!