The Forgiving Pomegranate Recipe
Posted by alisa on January 8, 2010 | 13 Comments
After getting to sample some POM, and reading about the great pomegranate buzz they created in the blogosphere, I finally broke down and bought a whole pomegranate fruit when I spotted the organic ones on sale … oh about 2 months ago. Two months ago? Yes, so why in the world would I be blogging about it now? Um, perhaps because I didn’t actually use it until today.
Yes, I confess, I watched that bright red bulb shrivel and dull … my creative juices just weren’t flowing and I truly had no idea what to do with the thing. But last night, as I finally cleaned out the fridge, I knew that fruit could stay in there no longer. Expecting the worst, I cut into it, only to discover brilliant bright red seeds inside that decrepit peel.
Now that is a protective coating! I had not expected to blog about the pomegranate here as it is a rather pricey fruit, but when I discovered how many of those wonderful fruity seeds lie within a single pomegranate, it looked like a deal! I did get mine on sale for $1.50, and they seem to more often be $2 or $2.5o, but even so, the seeds add such delight to recipes (seriously, have you ever had pomegranate champagne with those seeds? OMG!) and so little is needed that a single pomegranate goes a longs ways.
If you do purchase one (trust me, they are much less intimidating than they seem!), definitely read some instructions on how to cut them open – it will make your life easier trust me. I couldn’t find the instructions I used again (lost in the internet somewhere!) but here is Elise’s over at Simply Recipes. I actually deseeded them in the bowl of water, which kept me from getting squirted with any of the bright red juice (yes, no stained clothes!). I noticed Elise doesn’t do this, but I recommend it.
My first pomegranate seed dish wasn’t adventurous to say the least, but it was delicious. I actually threw the seeds right into my blender – it isn’t a powerful one, so I was left with very crunchy seeds in my smoothie, which I liked but want to warn you about – with my simple favorite breakfast blend, a banana smoothie/shake.
If you like your smoothies drinkable rather than spoonable (I like them thick!) then I recommend using pomegranate juice (bottled, or squeezed from your little seeds), so that you don’t end up with crunch little seeds. Maybe you Vitamix people can pulverize the seeds, but my $15 hamilton beach can’t!
Either way, the seeds taste very similar to sweetened cranberry juice to my taste buds, and make a perfect addition to the ordinary breakfast smoothie for a sweet (yet unsweetened) treat that goes down easy!
- Good Morning Pom-Banana Smoothie
- 1/4 Cup Pomegranate Seeds or Pomegranate Juice, plus additiona pom seeds for topping
- 1 Large Frozen, Ripe Banana
- Vanilla Milk Alternative (I usually start with about 3/4 cup and add more as needed; I used unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze)
- 2 Tablespoons Protein Powder (unflavored or vanilla – I used plain, unflavored egg white protein powder, which makes it nice and creamy)
Blend the 1/4 cup of pomegranate seeds or juice and all remaining ingredients in your blender until nice and smooth. I use a lesser amount of milk alternative for a thick spoonable shake-style smoothie, but you can add more. Just note that those uber-crunch seeds may not fully blend! Top with some additional seeds for taste and asthetics.
Yields 1 easy-on-the-early-morning-tummy breakfast