Conquering the pomegranate

In the traditions of many Jewish holidays, there’s a poetic relationship between the festival’s culinary laws and that season’s foods.

While the relationship linking Rosh Hashanah with apples and honey never grows old, the elegant and elusive pomegranate is less acknowledged, though it is profoundly tied to biblical literature and ancient agriculture.

Pomegranate seeds offer the kind of culinary beauty that cause us to slow down, take note and absorb the sacred spirit of newness. That being said, they can be a pain to wrangle.

Here is a strategy to help you conquer the pomegranate this Rosh Hashanah.

Have a big bowl of water ready. Cut the fruit into quarters, and submerge them in water. Peel them under water and keep them there as you comb through with your fingers to loosen the seeds.

The skins and inedible pith will float to the surface (skim this away thoroughly and discard) and the seeds will sink to the bottom. Strain and you’ve got the goods.

Roasted Acorn Squash Rings with Pomegranate-Lime Glaze

Simple and sweet, these golden circles topped with the contrasting tart glaze will round out your dinner plate. Be careful slicing the squash.

Use a very sharp paring knife, inserting the point first and using a gently sawing motion. The easiest way to remove the seeds is to cut loose the strand around them with scissors and then scrape them away with a spoon.

You can make the glaze well ahead of time; it keeps indefinitely.

Squash Ingredients

olive oil for the baking tray

2 medium-size acorn squash, about 3 pounds, with the skin on and cut into ½-inch rings.

Squash Method

Position a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking tray with foil and coat it lightly with olive oil. (You can use one of the squash rings to spread it around.)

Arrange the squash slices on the prepared tray and place the tray in the oven.

After about 15 to 20 minutes (or when the squash is fork-tender and lightly browned on top and around the edges), remove the tray from the oven. Spoon or brush the still-hot squash with a light coating of the glaze.

Makes 6 servings, about 3 pieces per serving.

Pomegranate-Lime Glaze Ingredients

¼ cup pomegranate molasses

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (possibly more to taste)

Pomegranate-Lime Glaze Method

Combine the pomegranate molasses and lime juice in a small bowl and mix until smooth. Taste to adjust for more lime juice.

Serve hot, warm or at room temperature, decorated with pomegranate seeds. Pass a little dish of extra glaze at the table.

Makes about ⅓ cup (about 1 tablespoon per serving). Good on all vegetables, grains, tofu, chicken, meat, etc.

Curried Eggplant “Slap-Down” with Yogurt, Onion Relish            and Pomegranate

Adapted from “The Heart of the Plate.” Small eggplants, artfully prepared, can be an elegant appetizer or a light lunch, in addition to a welcome side dish.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons grapeseed or peanut oil

Up to 1 teaspoon unsalted butter (optional)

1 teaspoon curry powder

Four 4-ounce eggplants, trimmed and halved lengthwise

½ teaspoon salt (plus a big extra pinch)

¼ cup Greek yogurt

Another scant tablespoon oil (hot, so the seeds will sizzle on contact)

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

¼ teaspoon (big pinch) turmeric

1 cup minced onion

pomegranate seeds and/or pomegranate concentrate or molasses

Method

Place a medium (9-inch) skillet over medium heat and wait about a minute, then add ½ tablespoon of the oil and swirl to coat the pan. Melt some butter into the oil, if desired, and sprinkle in the curry powder, which will sizzle upon contact.

Add the eggplant halves with their cut sides facing down into the oil, swishing them around (as though you’re wiping the pan with them) to both distribute and acquire the curry.

Turn the heat to medium low, cover the pan, and cook undisturbed for about 8 minutes – until each eggplant half becomes tender. Peek underneath a few times to be sure the cut surfaces are not becoming too dark.

If they are, lower the heat, and/or turn the eggplants over onto their backs. The eggplant is cooked when the stem end can easily be pierced with a fork.

Flip the eggplants onto their backs, sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt and transfer to a plate.

Spoon a little yogurt onto each open surface, spreading it to cover; set aside while you prepare the onion.

Keeping the same pan over medium high heat, add another ½ tablespoon oil, swirling to coat the pan.

Sprinkle in the cumin seeds and turmeric (both should sizzle on contact) and mix them a little to pick up some of the flavor that may have adhered.

Add the onion and a big pinch of salt, tossing to coat. Cook quickly over medium heat, about 5 minutes or until tender-crisp, then remove the pan from the heat.

Divide the onions evenly among the 4 halves, spooning them over the yogurt (and scraping and maximally including any remaining tasty bits from the pan).

Top with pomegranate seeds and/or a drizzle of pomegranate concentrate or molasses.

Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Makes 4 servings. 

Endive Salad

Adapted from “The Heart of the Plate.” Cook the wild rice ahead of time. If you can find both red and green Belgian endive, they’ll make a colorful salad.

Salad Ingredients

4 Belgian endives (about a pound), chopped crosswise

½ medium jicama (about ¾ pound, peeled and cut into matchsticks or any shape bite-sized pieces)

1 medium-sized red apple, sliced

seeds from a medium-sized  pomegranate

½ cup  cooked wild rice

black pepper

½ cup coarsely chopped pecans, lightly toasted

¼ cup plain yogurt (low- or non-fat or whole milk)

1 heaping tablespoon finely minced shallot

¼ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons apple juice

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

1 teaspoon pure maple syrup

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese (possibly more, to taste)

black pepper

Salad Method

Toss the vegetables, fruit and rice together in a medium-large bowl.

Keep tossing as you add the dressing (stirred from the bottom, to reincorporate and also to include all the tasty blue cheese bits) – until everything is coated as you like it. You might or might not end up using all the dressing.

Grind in some black pepper toward the end of the tossing, and serve topped with pecans.

Makes 4 to 5 servings. 

Blue Cheese-Yogurt Dressing Method

Combine the yogurt shallot, salt, apple juice, vinegar and maple syrup in a small jar with a tight-fitting lid or a medium-small bowl. Whisk until thoroughly blended.

Keep whisking as you drizzle in the olive oil.

Stir in the blue cheese; then taste the dressing. Add more cheese, if you like.

Cover tightly and refrigerate until use. Shake or stir from the bottom before using.

Makes ¾ cup.

Mollie Katzen, named by Health Magazine as one of “The Five Women Who Changed the Way We Eat,” has published several cookbooks. Her newest cookbook, “The Heart of the Plate: Vegetarian Recipes for a New Generation,” is being published in September 2013 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.