A Valentine’s meal for two. Bonnie Stern adds a little red to the meal.
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Red is the colour of Valentine’s Day. Foods like beets, red peppers, radicchio, lobster, strawberries, cherries, raspberries and blood oranges are all popular ingredients to use if you are making a special dinner. But there’s something about the colour of a pomegranate that fits in especially well with the holiday.
After learning many ways to open pomegranates, here’s my favourite: cut through the skin only around the equator and gently pry open. Place one half at a time in the palm of your hand, cut side down. Holding your hand over a bowl hit the top of the pomegranate with the back of a wooden spoon and the seeds will fall out into the bowl through your fingers.
RUBY RED BEET SOUP
You can serve this soup chunky or puréed. If serving chunky garnish with a spoonful of sour cream or yogurt, toasted walnuts, pomegranate seeds, fresh dill or all the above. If you purée it, it’s fun to drop polka-dots of sour cream, yogurt or coconut milk on each serving and run the tip of a knife through them to create whimsical hearts. Or pipe the cream on the soup in heart shapes. If the cream and the soup are the same texture or slightly lighter it works well but if the cream is heavier it will sink.
❚ 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
❚ 1 small onion, diced
❚1 clove garlic, fine ly chopped
❚ 3 carrots, sliced ( about 3/4 lb.)
❚ 3 red beets ( about 11/2 lbs. after trimming), peeled and cut into small chunks
❚ 3 cups chicken stock or water
❚ 1 tbsp. sherry vinegar
❚ 1 tsp. kosher salt
❚ pinch freshly ground black pepper
❚ garnishes above
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan and cook onions and garlic a few minutes until tender but not brown.
2. Add carrots and beets and combine with onions. Add stock or water and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat, cover, and cook gently 20 minutes or until beets are tender. Add vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Purée or not — see intro.
Makes 4 to 5 servings
BEET, POMEGRANATE AND RADICCHIO SALAD
This salad is delicious as a side dish or appetizer, or make it more substantial by adding goat cheese or topping with thinly sliced rare steak.
❚ 11/2 lbs. ruby beets, cleaned
❚ 1 cup pomegranate seeds
❚ 1 small head radicchio, chopped
DRESSING
❚ 2 tbsp. pomegranate molasses
❚ 2 tbsp. lemon juice
❚ 1 tbsp. honey
❚ 1 clove garlic, grated or minced
❚ 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
❚ 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1. Wrap beets in a single layer in foil and roast in a preheated 400F oven one to two hours or until tender. Cool, rub off skins and dice beets into small pieces.
2. Combine beets with pomegranate seeds and diced
radicchio.
3. Make dressing by whisking pomegranate molasses with lemon juice, honey, garlic, salt and olive oil. Season to taste. Toss with beet mixture.
Makes 4 to 6 servings
PAVLOVA WITH CANDIED BEETS AND POMEGRANATE
Candied beets are a surprise of deliciousness!
PAVLOVA
❚ 4 egg whites
❚ 1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
❚ 1 cup sugar ( preferably fruit sugar)
❚ 2 tsp. white vinegar
❚ 1 tbsp. cornstarch
CANDIED BEETS
❚ 12 oz. red beets, trimmed, peeled and diced ( about 2 cups)
❚ 1/2 cup sugar
❚ 1 cup pomegranate juice or water
❚3 cardamom seeds, bruised, optional
CREAM
❚ 1 cup whipping cream
❚ 1 tbsp. orange liqueur (or 1 tsp. orange blossom water or 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract)
To finish:
❚ 3/4 cup pomegranate seed
❚ 1 blood orange, sliced
❚ sifted icing sugar
1. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar with a hand mixer or whisk until they turn opaque. Slowly beat in sugar and continue to beat until firm peaks form. Beat in vinegar and then fold in cornstarch. Trace an 8” circle on a parchment paperlined baking sheet and swirl meringue to cover the circle. Bake in a preheated 275F oven for 45 to 60 minutes until firm on the outside and marshmallow- i sh i nside. Cool.
2. Place beets, sugar, pomegranate juice and cardamom seeds in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook 25 to 30 minutes or until beets are tender. Remove beets and pat dry. Continue to cook liquid, uncovered, until thick and syrupy — about ½ cup. Strain out cardamom pods and seeds and cool.
3. Whip cream until light, beat in orange liqueur. Do not overbeat.
4. Just before serving, spoon cream over meringue and sprinkle with beets and pomegranate seeds. Drizzle with beet syrup and garnish with blood orange slices. Dust with icing sugar.
Makes 4 servings National Post