These days pomegranates are way too trendy. You can get a pomegranate martini in any semi-hip bar and pomegranate juice is touted as curing just about everything from heart disease and prostate cancer to premature aging. (Is there any other kind?). You can even purchase pills that allegedly contain all the nutrition of pomegranate without the calories. We are a nation of pill-popping food phobes, aren’t we?
How to Eat a Pomegranate
All marketing hype aside, the pomegranate’s flavor is distinct and delicious—tart yet sweet and not really like any other fruit. You ought to eat a fresh pomegranate at least once. You will be stunned by its beauty—all those garnet jewels nestled together in sparkling clusters. As a kid, I sucked the juice and spit out the seeds. This makes for a messy and rather gross eating experience. It is infinitely better to chew the crunchy seeds and swallow them. The texture and slight bitterness are part of the flavor. And I’m sure they provide fiber, too, which undoubtedly cures something.
Fresh pomegranate seeds look fetching piled in a little pyramid on top of salad, fish, fowl or dessert. Or use them to garnish guacamole or an orange salad for a tasty psychedelic look, For actual cooking though, pomegranate juice is a lot easier to handle. Before you try juicing them yourself, let me warn you that it ain’t easy. I tried making jelly from a case of pomegranates once. I attempted juicing by every means from rolling them on the counter to crush the seeds to using an electric juicer. In the end my kitchen looked like an abattoir, the yield was pitiful and the juice was kind of bitter. Now it’s easy (though expensive) to buy good juice. But I’ve got an even better solution.
Pomegranate Juice vs. Pomegranate Molasses
Pomegranate juice is delicious for drinking but for cooking, pomegranate molasses is easier and cheaper. This fabulous elixir is nothing more than boiled down pomegranate juice. Only catch is, you have to find it before you can buy it. It is available in any store that carries Middle Eastern foods and is often labeled pomegranate concentrate, sometimes syrup. (The Arabic name transliterated is something like dibs rumman.) Don’t be fooled by grenadine from the liquor store. Most of it is just high fructose corn syrup and flavorings. Check the ingredient list before you buy. It should say “concentrated pomegranate juice” and nothing else.
So what’s pomegranate molasses for? Everything! It adds a mysterious, sultry note to vinaigrettes, marinades and sauces. Classic Persian cuisine uses a combo of walnuts and pomegranate molasses for fesenjan, a poultry or lamb stew. See below for my dumbed-down recipe for Pomegranate Chicken. The walnut- pomegranate toothsome twosome also appears in Mahamorrah (also spelled Muhammara, Mouhamara, etc.), a delectable Middle Eastern dip. This is my go-to dish for potlucks, last minute entertaining and food demos. Everyone loves it, nobody can guess what’s in it and it takes approximately five minutes to make with the simple recipes below.
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Pomegranate Chicken
(Serves 4)
2 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1-1/2 C. walnuts
1/4 C. flour
2 eggs, beaten lightly
salt and pepper
2 to 4 T. olive oil
1-1/2 C. chicken stock
1/4 C. pomegranate concentrate
Rinse and separate the chicken into four pieces. Flatten by removing the tenderloin (that little skinny part underneath) and then covering with plastic wrap and pounding until thickness is fairly even, about 1/2 inch. Chop the walnuts coarsely with the flour in a food processor. Put the eggs and the walnut mix into separate shallow dishes. Salt and pepper each chicken piece, then dip into the beaten eggs, followed by the walnut coating. Press the coating onto both sides so it sticks.
Heat the oil in a sauté pan. Add the chicken and brown both sides. Cook through, about 10 to 15 minutes total. Don’t crowd the pan and don’t worry about some walnut mixture falling off (it thickens the sauce). Remove the chicken and keep warm.
Add the chicken stock and pomegranate concentrate to the pan. Cook, scraping up the brown bits, for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly. Taste and adjust seasoning. Pour over the chicken and serve.
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Mahamorrah (walnut-pomegranate dip)
(Makes about 2 cups dip)
2 cloves garlic
1-1/2 cups walnuts (toasted if you feel inspired)
1 jar roasted red peppers (10-16 oz.), drained
3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 cup olive oil (approximately)
Put garlic in a food processor, pulse to chop. Add walnuts, pulse to roughly chop. Add red peppers, pomegranate molasses, salt, pepper and cumin. Pulse to form a coarse puree, adding enough olive oil to smooth out dip. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve with toasted pita bread.
A Seedy Aside
It was the goddess Persephone who swallowed 6 pomegranate seeds while being held prisoner in Hades and caused winter. I’ve never forgiven her. Pomegranates are also symbols of fertility in most cultures for obvious reasons. And on the dark side, our word grenade comes from the French pom grenate (seeded apple).
How to Peel
a Pomegranate
To get the seeds (called arils botanically speaking) separated from the white waxy pith they cling to, get a big bowl of water. Score the skin of the pomegranate and pull it apart into manageable sections. Dunk a section and keep it under water while you swish and pull apart seeds from pith. The seeds will sink and you can easily scoop off and discard pith and peel.
Purchasing
Pomegranates
Fresh pomegranates Look for fruits that are plump, round and heavy for their size. The tough, leather-like skin is almost always waxed, but the color can range from deep red to yellowish orange. Pomegranates keep well—at least a month in the fridge. You can also freeze seeds or juice.
Pomegranate molasses (or concentrate, or paste, or syrup): A common ingredient in Middle Eastern dishes, like fesenjan, this is made by boiling down the juice of the slightly sour pomegranate grown in the region. A somewhat sweeter pomegranate molasses comes from Persia.
Anardana Dried pomegranate seeds used in Northern Indian cuisine. Look for slightly moist, dark brown seeds in plastic packets at Indian and Pakistani stores. Anardana is also available ground into a powder.
Pomegranate juice A California company called PomWonderful www.pomwonderful.com distributes fresh, refrigerated juice to most supermarkets. There are other bottled pasteurized juices but the quality varies and, as always, check the ingredients to make sure you’re not buying colored and flavored grape juice. Many choices are also available on-line.
