Maybe its their bejewelled nature, or their delicious burst of flavour, but lately I cannot get enough pomegranate in my life. And it turns out this obsession is shared amongst many in the world and rightly so, as pomegranates are a new super food:  They are high in vitamin C and potassium, a great source of fiber, and low in calories. Not only is this fruit delicious, but one of the healthiest foods you can eat

Pomegranate are high in three different types of polyphenols (poluphenol is a potent form of antioxidants). The three types – tannins, anthocyanins, and ellagic acid – are present in many fruits, but fresh pomegranate contains particularly high amounts of all three. The antioxidants are credited with helping in the prevention of cancer and heart disease.

So, whether you snack on fresh pomegranate seeds, or drink the juice, or incorporate into into your diet in another way, feel guilt-free as you enjoy each delicious mouthful because you’re doing your body a favor!

Pomegranates in the Northern Hemisphere are in season from September to February and March to May in the Southern Hemisphere, and can be used in so many different ways- sweet, savoury, to garnish, decorate, stew, freeze, blend.. the possibilites are endless. One way to cook with it, is to turn the juice into pomegranate molasses- a sweet thick syrup like substance that is used in a lot of middle eastern dishes.

Pomegranate Molasses

8 cups pomegranate juice
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Place the pomegranate juice, sugar and lemon juice in a large saucepan over medium heat.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has completely dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved, then reduce the heat and cook until the mixture has reduced to 2 cups, (approximately 60 minutes). It should be the consistency of thick syrup (like golden syrup or molasses).

Remove from the heat and allow to cool in the saucepan. Transfer to a glass jar and allow to cool completely before covering. Pomegranate molasses can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

For the following recipe is a really good winter warmer, or delicious served at room temperature on a hot day. It is also a good meal option for vegetarians if serving a banquet with other meaty dishes, as this is very hearty and soulful and will not leave anyone feeling hungry or unsatisfied. For this recipe, if you are too pushed for time to make your own, store bought pomegranate molasses works just as well.

Pomegranate, Eggplant & Lentil Stew

1 large eggplant
1 cup water
1 cup green lentils
4 cloves of garlic
1 large onion
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 green chillies, seeded and chopped
¼ cup chopped mint leaves, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/3 cup pomegranate molasses
salt & pepper

Cut the eggplant length ways into 5 slices, then slice each into 3 pieces. Sprinkle generously with salt and leave to sit for one hour.

While the eggplant is resting, in a small saucepan, cover the lentils with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to and simmer until just tender, (about 15 minutes). Drain any excess liquid.

In a bowl, add onion, garlic, chillies, mint, tomato paste, salt and pepper and toss thoroughly to combine.

Rinse eggplant and pat dry. Coat the base of a small casserole dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Spread ½ cup of the vegetable mixture in the base of the casserole dish, then top with a layer of eggplant. Cover with ½ cup of the lentils, and repeat this layering process until all portions are used up. Drizzle with another tablespoon of olive oil and the pomegranate molasses.

Slowly bring the stew to the boil, then reduce to a very low heat and cook for 1.5 hours or until stew is tender.

Stew can be served, hot, warm or at room temperature.

Equipped with a picnic basket full of homemade goodies (hot cross buns, dolmades, hummous and bread) we headed inland on the Sunshine Coast for a good old fashioned doof. In a tree house (see below). Much tree-house climbing, nook dancing (UK DJ Gravious featured), gin swigging fun was had.. with the delivery of a basket of home-made hot cross buns to party goers in the wee hours.

Hot Cross Buns 

1 cups warm milk
4 teaspoons (2x 7g sachets) dried yeast
1/4 cup caster sugar
60g butter, melted
1 egg
4 cups (600g) plain flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp mixed spice
1 cup sultanas
1/2 cup currants
1/2 cup mixed peel (optional)
1 teaspoon finely grated orange rind

Crosses
1/3 cup self raising flour
1 tablespoon caster sugar 

Glaze
1/4 cup caster sugar
1/4 teaspoon mixed spice 

Mix together milk, yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar until yeast has dissolved. Cover with a teatowel and set aside for about 10 minutes, or until frothy.

Combine milk mixture, butter and egg and whisk to combine.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and mix together. Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk mixture and stir gently until just combined.

Place mixture onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 – 15 minutes, or until dough is smooth and elastic. Alternatively, put the dough in a processor (if you have a plastic dough attachment ie NOT a large silver blade) and allow the processor to knead it, it will probably only take about 5 minutes this way.

When the dough is ready, place it in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise for about an hour, or until doubled in size.

Punch down the dough and knead on a floured surface again for a few minutes. Divide into 16 portions and roll each into a ball.

Place balls on a greased 23cm square cake tin, about 1cm apart. Cover and allow balls to rise again for 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 200°C and make the crosses – combine self-raising flour with sugar and 1/4 cup water (more of either if necessary) to make a rollable white dough. Roll into long thin sausages and fashion crosses on each of buns. Bake buns for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 180°C and bake for a further 10-15 minutes, until buns sound hollow when tapped.

For the glaze, combine sugar and mixed spice with 1/4 cup water in a saucepan over a medium-high heat. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 minutes.

Cool on a drying rack, but before they are too cool spread them with butter and devour!

Sunday night of a long weekend meant a perfect opportunity for Bookery Cook dinner partying, Mexican styles… salsa, burritos, corona, sangria, colourful skirts, Freida-inspired headpieces, a tortilla-rolling tag team and living room dancing.

Prepping for the Mexican banquet, we took our green bags and appetites (lots of taste testers) to Kelvin Grove markets (held in Blamey st at QUT Kelvin Grove every Saturday, 6am till 1pm).

On the menu…

Salsa
Corn chips/crackers/or toasted corn wraps for a lighter option
Homemade tortillas
Shredded and refried skirt steak
Refried beans
Sweet and not-so-sweet chilli sauce (recipes below)

To serve: Lettuce, tomato, grated carrot, guacamole, grated cheese, natural yoghurt (or sour cream – these will save your mouth lest they turn into fiery furnaces!) 

First thing first: Sangria.

Chilli Sauce

Domesticated by the Aztecs in Latin America more than 6000 years ago, chillis belong to the Solanaceae family (deadly nightshade to those of you who have the misfortune of being allergic to them). Apparently when capsaicin (a colourless compound contained in chillis) stimulates nerve endings and raises your pulse, hence the ‘heat’ associated with them… They are also believed to release endorphins, giving you a natural high and acting as an aphrodisiac, and on top of this they chillis are also rumoured to speed up your metabolism so load up your plates!

7 cloves of garlic, peeled
250g large red chillies, stems removed
3 thumbs of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 thumb of galangal, peeled and roughly chopped
1 cup fresh coriander leaves
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
3 tablespoons water
50ml fish sauce
50ml cider vinegar
1/3 cup ketjap manis

Place garlic, ginger, galangal and coriander into a food processor and blend to a smooth paste.

In a saucepan, place water and castor sugar and turn the heat to medium. Stir until the sugar dissolves. When it has, bring to the boil and for 5-8min or until the syrup starts to caramelise- stirring occasionally to prevent it from burning. 

Reduce the heat back to medium and stir in the paste. Bring to the boil and add the fish sauce, cider vinegar and kitchen menace. Bring back to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 1-3mins.

Place in jars and enjoy!

Note: We found that this sauce is more delicious the day after its made. So if you are planning a Mexican dinner party, try and make the sauce 1-2 days in advance, but if you aren’t that organised its still delicious hot off the press.

Also, if you and your guests aren’t so chilli savvy, you can de-seed half of the chillies to create a milder version.

For the Not-So-Sweet Chilli variation, follow the same ingredients/process except reduce the amount of sugar to ½ a cup and 2 tablespoons of ketjap manis.

Kneading the tortilla dough

Tortilla-rolling tag team sussing out their techniques

Recruiting our El Salvadorian friend for the tortilla cookingKeep cooked torillas under a warm damp cloth whilst you cook the rest – this will keep them warm and prevent them from going dry… a tip kindly imparted to us by some banquest-partakers (we have previously kept them warm in the oven where they often dry out and complicate things at rolling time) 

The dinner spread post-round one

Then to finish off the meal (and any potential space in our tummies): a crumbly and moist flourless chocolate cake. Although its Mexican authenticity may be debatable, the delectability of this cake (made with ground almonds) is not.

ARIBA !

On a trip to Perth this week for work/play I managed to check out a few local eateries and drinkeries...

Tiger, tiger

Shop 4/329 Murray Street, Perth, Western Australia

Website

Tucked down an alley, Tiger Tiger is a hip, casual bar affair with some good grub to boot. During summer they have ‘Mary’s Bloody Sunday’ on their schedule, which involves house made Bloody Marys and a BBQ. Vege kebabs, pork belly kebabs and chicken drumsticks are BBQed to order, and served with house-made carrot & red cabbage coleslaw, rocket & spinach. The kebabs and coleslaw were tasty, greens were a little past it, but hey, it was a hot summer afternoon I think we all were. The music could use some work – sounded like staff with steeply varied music tastes had each a put a CD in the stacker and it was set to random.

Dancing goat

3/142 Railway Street, Cottesloe, Western Australia

Started the day with a glorious early-morning swim at City Beach (I know this sounds either like an oxymoron or conjures up images of tourist-laden fake-beach inner cities such as Southbank in Brisbane, but is far from either of these). Growing up on the Sunshine Coast in QLD I have pretty high beach standards, but the beaches in WA definitely hold their own. It is more of a rugged, dramatic coastline with exaggerated features… white sand, crystal clear blue water, monster sharks.
After consulting a few reviews/ blogs, we decided to breakfast at Dancing Goat. Although not on the beach front but in an unremarkable little row of shops, the dining experience had been well-reviewed on all accounts.

We had:

Beetroot, ginger, apple, lemon, carrot juice: $6.50 – This was a perfectly balanced juice with ample ginger zing.

Bircher muesli: $12 – another perfectly balanced offering.. mixed raw nuts (walnuts, brazil nuts, almonds), some dried fruit, julienned apple, stewed rhubarb and a side of pot-set natural yoghurt.

Smoked salmon bagel: $12? – also a win. Fresh white bagel, good amount of salmon, cream cheese, avo and capers, although far too many sprouts (one is too many in my book… how does one bite a sprout?)

Later that day…

Cottesloe Beach Hotel

104 Marine Parade, Cottesloe, Western Australia

Website

This place was packed on a Monday evening, no doubt with sunset watchers eager to enhance their experience with a cold beer.

Barchetta

149 Marine Parade, Cottesloe, Western Australia

Website

On scoping Barchetta from our perch at the pub across the road, we decided to stop in for a glass of wine an appetizer.

The chardonnay, bruschetta, beachfront and friendly staff lured us in for another 2 rounds of food.

Bruschetta: $17 – on the menu this appeared as ‘Danish feta & white anchovy bruschetta’ – while not coming with either of these things it did come with some kind of sun dried tomato tapenade and tomato a balsamic reduction, and was just perfect.

Calamari: $17? – these crisp little numbers were tender, flavourful and plentiful. YUM

Scallop sashimi, tangy pawpaw salad: $24 – ok, but a little disappointing. This dish had all the right things on paper, but just needed a squeeze of lime of sprinkle of fresh chilli or something to give it its rightful pizazz.

Watching a storm roll in over dinner…

Nothing says Christmas more than the smell of warming spices. Having a massive craving to bake and feeling festive, I decided to bake Ginger bread biscuits to take to work.

Once I started baking I realised that there was one key ingredient missing, ginger. Having the pantry full of other spices, I decided to improvise and substitute the tablespoon of ground ginger for 1 of Jamaican All Spice, 1/2 of cinnamon and 1/2 of nutmeg.

I struggle to find a lot of *normal products in American Supermarkets, golden syrup being one (lightbulbs being another), so I was forced to settle for molasses instead. The main difference between golden syrup and molasses is that has a richer colour than golden syrup, and a stronger, slightly bitter flavour- so counter act this, I used a fraction less of it than golden syrup.

The result was a deliciously spiced biscuit- perfect with a cup of warm milk, or mug of tea.

Festive Sprice Biscuits

(Adapted from December 2011 issue of Gourmet Traveller Magazine)

5 cups plain flour

80 grams dark brown sugar

80 grams light brown sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon Jamacian all spice

½ tablespoon ground nutmeg

½ tablespoon ground cinnamon

220 grams butter, cubed

160 grams molasses

2 eggs
1 star cookie cutter


Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and spices in a food processor and mix to combined. 

Add the butter and process until crumbs form, add the molasses and eggs and process until mixture comes together. Turn onto a work surface and knead until dough forms. Divide into two portions, wrap in plastic, refrigerate and let sit for 1-2hours.

Preheat the oven to 180*C. Grease or line a large baking tray.

Roll dough onto a floured surface until ½ cm thick. Cut out star and roll and repeat process with remaining dough. Place stars on a baking paper lined tray and bake for 10-15 minutes until slightly golden. Be careful not to over-cook as these biscuits harden when they cool. Dust with icing sugar.

*Festive YUM ☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

Sundays unfairly get a bad rap by most of the working population. Transform your Sunday into a day to look forward to by including at least one of the following features: a platter, champagne, feature meal, nap, swim, crossword, gardening, a movie (in no strict order) (on a sliding scale upwards towards bliss the more features involved).

Last Sunday at our parent’s house ticked quite a few of these boxes – a late lunch of a plate of tranquilizing meat bullets, which sent us to siesta before we tackled the crossword (getting stuck on 26-across ‘Permanently attached to a base’ with the letters S_S_I_E) & a cuppa, had a refreshing dip, moved onto platters & champagne, then wrapped up with a dessert we thought was highly unnecessary whilst making it earlier in the day, but highly necessary whilst consuming it later in the day.

Round #1

Polpettone wrapped in pancetta (or ‘Meat Bullets’)

Panzanella (tomato & bread salad)

Foccacia

Polpettone
(adapted from Gourmet Traveller Annual Cookbook 2009, p. 146)
Serves 6-8


100ml olive oil

2 onions, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tsp each finely chopped marjoram & oregano leaves

1 tsp finely chopped sage leaves

1kg minced veal

2 eggs, lightly beaten

35g (1/2 cup) fine breadcrumbs from a crusty white loaf

40g (1/2 cup) finely grated parmesan, plus extra to serve

16 (300g) wide, thin, flat pancetta slices

2 fresh bay leaves

750ml (3 cups) passata

250ml red wine

100g unsalted butter, coarsely chopped

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a frying pan over low-medium heat, add half the onion and half the garlic and sauté until soft and translucent (8-10 minutes), stir through herbs, remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Combine meat, eggs, breadcrumbs, parmesan, onion mixture and 2 tsp each sea salt and freshly ground black pepper in a bowl. Divide into 40 pieces, roll into logs, wrap each with overlapping pancetta slices, refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in a large flameproof casserole, add polpettone and turn occasionally until brown (5 minutes), then remove from casserole and set aside. Add remaining onion and garlic to casserole and sauté over low-medium heat until soft (7-8 minutes), stir in bay leaves, passata and red wine. Add polpettone, cover and simmer until firm when pressed (10 minutes), remove lid and simmer until sauce is reduced by half (8-10 minutes).

Transfer polpettone to a plate with a slotted spoon, cover loosely with foil and keep warm. Increase heat to high and cook sauce until thick (5-10 minutes), then stir in butter until combined.

Spoon tomato sauce over polpettone, scatter with parmesan and serve immediately.

Panzanella (Italian Tomato & bread salad)

(adapted from Vogue Entertaining & Travel, Food from our travels, p. 12)

2 large cloves garlic, halved

1 long red chilli, seeded, chopped

60ml (1/4 cup) red wine vinegar

100ml extra virgin olive oil

4 large vine-ripened tomatoes (we used heirloom varieties from local farmer)

125g cherry tomatoes, halved

1 red capsicum, seeded

2 Lebanese cucumbers

½ red onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon capers, rinsed

4 x 1.5cm-thick slices day-old ciabatta, lightly toasted, torn into pieces

1 loosely-packed cup basil leaves

Using a pestle and mortar, pound garlic with 1/2 teaspoon sea salt to a paste, then add chilli and pound to a coarse paste. Place mixture in a large bowl, then whisk in vinegar, a pinch of sugar and oil until combined.

Cut the vine-ripened tomatoes, capsicum and cucumbers into bite-sized pieces and add to dressing with cherry tomatoes, onion, capers and bread. Season with freshly ground black pepper and toss well to combine.

Stand salad at room temperature for 20 minutes, tossing occasionally, and serve scattered with torn basil leaves.

Round #2
 Platter of various local/import cheeses (Maleny Dairy Vintage Cheddar, Jindi Deluxe Blue, Jarlsberg), leftover foccacia toasted, smoked salmon (Tasmanian Tassal brand – the best!!)

Round #3


Poached peach & cherry frangipane tart 

We had a bit of an initial fail with this tart – only having half the required amount of flour, we attempted to substitute semolina. This did not work – it was too grainy and didn’t cohere (perhaps not enough gluten?). It may have the potential to work, with more flour/less semolina/a lower butter proportion/maybe an egg to bind it… but not knowing enough of the science required we ducked to the local to get some ready-made shortcrust pastry.

For the frangipane filling: we blended together 200g butter, 200g almond meal, 200g caster sugar, 20ml Cointreau

For the poached fruit: we followed this recipe, but only poached the apricot halves for about 7-10 minutes and the cherries for 1 minute, then peeled them.

To bake: blind bake the tart base at 200*c for about 10 minutes then allow to cool. Spread over almond mixture, then press in fruit. Bake at 200*c for about 20 minutes, until almond mixture is golden and pastry is well cooked.

We served this with natural yoghurt that had been in the freezer for about 30 minutes, for an extra bit of tang to cut through the richness. Delish !

First thanksgiving ever and I decided to go very non-traditional and cook a ‘Shanksgiving’ feast.
Teaming up with good friend and fellow food obsessee Aimee Hunter, of Anatomy of Food, the menu was as follows:

Snacks

Brie and Appalachian cheese

Baguettes

Country Pate (from Marlow & Sons)
Cornichons

Savory

Spiced Braised Beef Shanks

Parsnip Dumplings with Roast Kale

Eggplant & Lentil Stew with Pomegranate Molasses

Brussells Sprouts in Butter

Pomegranate, feta, mint & Cous Cous Salad

Sweets

Pumpkin Pie with Ricotta Ice Cream 

Brown Butter Bourbon Custard Pie (supplied by Ovenly)

Drinks

Mulled wine

Whiskey
Champagne (of course)

Anatomy of Food was in charge of the meatier side of the menu (Beef Shanks & dumplings), and The Bookery Cook bought the vege option and sides to the table.

drink selection

The feast was a success, and all 16 mouths and stomachs were sufficiently satisfied, big thanks to Aimee, think this is the start of a very long and delicious friendship.