My love for Pomegranates

I have really come to love this very versatile fruit!
And I love that its a super food!  Loaded in vitamin C, potassium, fiber, iron, and its a great antioxidant!

I love that you can drink the juice, eat the seeds as a snack, put them in yogurt, salads...and so many other ways!

But I wanted to post about was this cool new way of dissecting the fruit to enjoy it.
Not sure if any of you have struggled with peeling and getting out the fruit arils out of their membrane...but I definitely have - and have left my kitchen looking like a murder scene after with all of the red juice all over my cutting board, hands, and walls!  eek! yuck!

So when I saw this clip on you-tube on a cool technique to extract the arils in a pretty clean and easy manner, I had to share it with you all!

click on this link:  Pomegranate Instructional Video

I also love this pomegranate salad for this time of year...its so delish!


Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2001

2 tablespoons pomegranate juice
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 shallots, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 oranges, peeled and segmented
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
8 ounces goat cheese, cut crosswise into 6 slices
6 thin slices prosciutto
1 large head radicchio, rinsed, patted dry and torn into bite sized pieces
1 bunch arugula or watercress, rinsed, patted dry and cut int bite sized pieces
6 large leaves Bibb lettuce, rinsed and patted dry
1 head Belgian endive, stem removed and cut crosswise into thin shreds
Pomegranate seeds, as garnish
Directions
In a small bowl, combine the pomegranate juice and orange zest, vinegar, shallots, salt, pepper and mustard and whisks thoroughly to combine. Add the oil in a steady stream and whisk until emulsified. Fold the segmented oranges and sliced onions into 1/4 cup of the dressing and toss to combine and set aside.

Wrap each slice of goat cheese in a slice of prosciutto. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the wrapped cheeses and sear on both sides. Remove from the heat.

In a large salad bowl, combine the greens. Add the marinated orange sections and onion slices, and toss gently with enough extra dressing to coat evenly. Divide among salad plates and top each with a seared goat cheese package and a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds. Spoon a little extra dressing over each salad and serve immediately.


Happy snacking and cooking!

Love, Stylish Mama