Whipped Feta And Pomegranate Dip

Whipped Feta And Pomegranate Dip

Creamy whipped feta served on crunchy chicory leaves.

Ingredients:

100g strained Greek Yogurt
200g Feta
60g walnuts, roughly chopped
1 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon salt flakes
2 cups red chicory
Seeds of extra large pomegranate
1 1/4 small mint leaves picked

Directions:

Pulse the yogurt and cheese in a food processor until smooth.  Cover and chill until needed.

Line  baking tray with parchment paper.  Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat.  Add the walnuts and toast for 2 to 3 minutes.   until fragrant.  Stir in the honey and salt, then cook for another 1 to 2 minutes until evenly coated.  Tip onto the lined tray and quickly separate in small clusters.  Leave to cool for at least 30 minutes.

Trim the bases of the chicory and separate the leaves.  Put the whipped feta in a serving bowl and scatter over the nut clusters, pomegranate seeds and mint leaves.  Serve with the chickory for scooping.

Persimmon And Pomegranate Salad

 

Persimmon And Pomegranate Salad

Persimmon season for this delicious fruit is short lived.  It is delicious used in salads or baked in cakes, cookies, or sweet breads.

Ingredients:
5 persimmons, thinly sliced into 1/8"- 1/4" rounds

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
1/2 lemon, for juicing
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons mint leaves
sea salt

Shirley Temple Slushie

Shirley Temple Slushie

The godmother of mocktails hits the blender to become a frozen summer treat. For a spicy kick, use ginger beer instead of ginger ale.

Ingredients:

To make an adult version, stir:

1 oz frozen vodka into each glass before garnishing. You could also get four smaller portions by using 8-oz glasses or Mason jars.
1/2 cup (125 mL) ginger ale, chilled
1/2 cup (125 mL) pomegranate juice, chilled
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp (90 mL) frozen pulp-free concentrated orange juice
1 cup (250 mL) ice cubes
Thin orange wedges and cocktail cherries to garnish
Paper or compostable straws

Directions:
Place two 12-oz (375 mL) glasses in freezer. Pour ginger ale and
pomegranate juice into a container and place in freezer until mix starts freezing around edges, 45 to 60 minutes.

Place ginger ale mix, concentrated OJ and ice in a blender. Blend on high until smooth. Divide between chilled glasses. Garnish with orange wedges and cherries. Serve with straws.   Makes 2 drinks.

Spinach, Jicama, Red Onion And Orange Salad With Pomegranate Vinaigrette And Candied Pecans

SPINACH, JICAMA, RED ONION AND ORANGE SALAD WITH POMEGRANATE VINAIGRETTE AND CANDIED PECANS

Ingredients:

Vinaigrette:
2 cups pomegranate juice 
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil 
2 T. honey
1 T. balsamic vinegar
1 T. white wine vinegar 
2 tsp. Dijon mustard 
Salt and pepper to taste
Pecans:
1/4 cup golden brown sugar
1 T. olive oil
1 T. balsamic vinegar
1 cup lightly toasted pecan halves
Salad:

Serves 8.

16 oz. spinach leaves
1 cup julienned jicama
1 red onion, sliced and soaked in vinegar water for 1 hour, drained
4 navel oranges, peeled and segments removed or use 2 cans mandarin oranges 
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds

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Directions:

1. For vinaigrette, bring pomegranate juice to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat; reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes or until reduced to 1/3 cup—or use 1/3 cup pomegranate molasses. Transfer to a small bowl. Cool completely (about 30 minutes). Whisk in olive oil, honey, vinegar, mustard, pepper and salt. Dressing keeps 3 days.

2. For Pecans, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Stir sugar, oil and vinegar in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar melts and syrup bubbles, about 3 minutes. Mix in pecans. Stir until nuts are warmed through and syrup coats nuts evenly, about 3 minutes. Turn nuts out onto parchment and using a fork, separate nuts and cool completely. (These store for 2 days in an airtight container.)

3. For Salad, when ready to serve toss spinach with jicama, drained red onion, oranges and enough of the vinaigrette to coat well. Plate the salad and top with pomegranate seeds and pecans.

Hibiscus Pomegranate Punch

Hibiscus Pomegranate Punch

This deep-red punch is bursting with antioxidants and vitamin C. Layers of flavor are added by infusing hibiscus tea with orange peel, cinnamon sticks and cloves. If you are unable to find hibiscus tea in bags, loose-leaf hibiscus tea works, too.

Ingredients:

2 oranges
2 cups water
5 hibiscus tea bags 
1 cinnamon stick
5 whole cloves
1⁄4 cup honey
2 cups pomegranate juice, unsweetened “Just Pomegranate” juice

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Directions:

Remove the peel from the oranges using a vegetable peeler, taking care not to get too much of the white pith. Juice the oranges and reserve juice. 

Heat the water in a small saucepan and simmer the hibiscus tea bags, cinnamon sticks, cloves, honey and orange peel until fragrant, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and steep for 30 minutes. Remove the tea bags and chill the mixture. 

Mix the orange and pomegranate juices together in a large pitcher. Strain the spices out of the hibiscus tea mixture and add to the juices. Serve with ice. Makes 4 servings.