In Season: Pomegranates
Monday, 10 November 2008
My favourite thing at this time of year is the pomegranate. Last year I probably ate my weight in the gorgeous little beasts and was sad when I saw them disappearing from the shelves of the produce section of local supermarkets. Pomegranates are in season between September and January here and their jewel like seeds make a beautiful addition to many festive treats both sweet and savoury.
I had my first one of this season yesterday and I'm about to go and grab another. Granted, they're not the easiest fruit to eat but once you find what works best for you it gets easier. I cut mine across the middle and then tear the skin and pop the seeds out. It can be messy but it's rather satisfying and the look of a bowl full of the deep red arils is just amazing. I then tend to just get a spoon and scoff them all but they have been known to make it into some recipes from time to time.
Other ways to get the seeds away from the flesh include cutting the fruit in half and hitting the back with a wooden spoon as you catch the seeds in a bowl, there is also the classic way to shut your kids up - give them a pomegranate and a pin!
Pomegranates are touted as a superfood and are a good source of antioxidants and potassium.
So, if you can resist eating them straight from the bowl then here are some recipes to showcase this most beautiful fruit:
- Easy tabbouleh - cook some bulghar wheat (or cous cous if you prefer) in chicken or vegetable stock, and add handfuls of chopped fresh mint and parsley. Add lemon juice and segments of citrus fruit such as orange or satsuma and some chopped red pepper. Season to taste. This easy salad is great for lunchboxes.
- Marjorie Lang's Aubergine wontons with pomegranate raita (I really want to try this)
- James Tanner's Pomegranate fool
7 comments:
My missus uses the pin method, I don't know why but I find it annoying!
I think I'm too lazy for that. There's little reward for a lot of effort. I'd rather be left to enjoy all the seeds at once rather than one by one.
Mmmmmm....I'm going to the grocery today and now you've got me craving them. Yum!!!! You know the other way to eat them, the adult beverage way, is to run the inner workings through the blender and then strain them into a martini pitcher.....hmmmm...happy hour and antioxidants--a great combo!
Hi Glenna, thanks for taking the time to come over. I like your more adult idea very much! There's no way that can't be good!
I have a love/hate thing going with the taste of pomegranates. It reminds me of when I was a kid (good thing) but the flavour has a dry bitterness I *almost* dislike (bad-ish thing). Ubique taste though - and I like it enough to have been looking for a juice in the supermarket which 'gets it right'.
PS - 'UBIQUE' isn't a spelling mistake. It's a cross between unique and oblique. Exactly like the taste of pomegranates :)
I've never found a juice that actually tasted like pomegranate. I think part of my love of pomegranates is the little seeds when they burst, you can't get that from a juice!
A ubique flavour? Hehe, I also like the fact that pomegranate can work in both sweet and savoury dishes. I don't generally like fruit in savoury dishes but pomegranates work really well.
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