Popular pomegranate

LAST weekend saw the Güzelyurt district village of Güneşköy hold its first ever Pomegranate Fair. It is still early in the season but there are pomegranates in the shops, so we’ll follow Güneşköy’s lead this week and celebrate the pomegranate.

Pomegranates have been cultivated and appreciated since ancient times. In the Old Testament, Moses assured the Israelites that they would find them again in the Promised Land and according to Persian lore, Eve actually ate a pomegranate from the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden, not an apple.

In classical legend, Persephone, daughter of Demeter, goddess of fruit, was carried off to the underworld by Pluto. She vowed not to eat while in captivity, but succumbed and ate a pomegranate, spitting out all the seeds except six, which she swallowed. When Pluto finally gave in to Demeter, he was allowed to keep Persephone for six months of every year because of those seeds, and these six months became winter.

Ancient Egyptians buried their dead with pomegranates because they believed the fruit offered eternal life. It is also featured in mythology and tradition as a symbol of good tiding and the Chinese eat candied pomegranate seeds for good luck.

I tend to be wary when something is declared a “superfood”, but if claims are correct, pomegranates are bursting with vitamins A, C, and E, not to mention folic acid. They have far more antioxidant power than red wine or green tea and may help reduce the risk of developing heart disease or osteoarthritis.

Pomegranates are widely used in Near Eastern and, particularly, Persian (Iranian) cooking. Many recipes from the region call for pomegranate molasses (nar ekşisi), which has become a very trendy ingredient in recent years, due in no small way to the continuing popularity of Yottam Ottolenghi, who seems to use it or fresh pomegranate seeds in virtually every recipe.

To be fair, pomegranate seeds do lend themselves particularly well to salads, and it is still salad weather, so that is what we’ll concentrate on.

POMEGRANATE, TOMATO AND MINT SALSA

300g ripe tomatoes, diced 150g cherry tomatoes, quartered 1 red pepper, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1 small red onion, finely chopped 1 plump garlic clove, crushed A generous pinch of ground allspice (yenibahar)

A generous pinch of dried oregano or thyme (kekik)

2 teaspoons cider vinegar (elma sirkesi) 2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses (nar ekşisi)

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus a little extra Salt and black pepper to season Seeds from a large pomegranate A small handful of fresh mint leaves, torn, plus a sprig for garnish

Mix the chopped tomatoes, peppers and onion together in a salad bowl. Put the garlic, allspice, oregano, vinegar, pomegranate molasses, oil and a little salt into a screw-top jar, seal and shake until thoroughly combined into a dressing. Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary.

Drizzle the dressing over the mixture in the bowl and season well with black pepper. Toss gently then sprinkle over the pomegranate seeds and torn mint leaves. Drizzle with a little olive oil and garnish with a mint sprig just before serving.

This next recipe is packed with goodness and works equally well as a main course or as a starter/side salad. Serve it with puffy bazlama pide or poppadums.

SPICED POWERHOUSE SALAD

3 teaspoons freshly grated ginger 2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 small onion, finely chopped 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped 100g cooked chickpeas (tinned are fine) 1 teaspoon chilli flakes (pul biber) 1 tablespoon garam masala Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 cucumber, diced

2 large tomatoes, deseeded and diced A handful of coriander leaves, chopped Juice of half a lemon

3 or 4 tablespoons süzme yoghurt Seeds from a pomegranate

Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the ginger, onion and chopped chilli. Fry over a medium heat until the onions have softened but not coloured (at least five minutes), then add the chickpeas and cook for a further five minutes or so until golden. Stir in the pul biber and garam masala and cook for another two or three minutes, until fragrant. Remove the pan from the heat and season to taste with salt and pepper or extra spices.

Put the chopped cucumber, tomato and coriander into a bowl and stir in a good squeeze of lemon juice, then transfer to a

shallow serving dish. Top with the chickpea mixture, dollop on the yoghurt and scatter the pomegranate seeds over the top.

In Middle Eastern cookery, fattoush is a salad that uses up stale bread. I like to expand that to include pieces of toasted pitta or croutons cooked specially to go into a salad, not just stale leftovers. Today’s last salad is more Iranian than Arabic, having been inspired by one of my current favourites, Sabrina Ghayour.

AUBERGINE AND POMEGRANATE FATTOUSH

2 thick slices village bread, preferably dayold

1 garlic clove, peeled and cut in half Olive oil for frying

3 or 4 smallish aubergines, chopped into bite-sized chunks

6 tablespoons pomegranate molasses 2 teaspoons pul biber or isot

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons tomato and red pepper purée (eg Bibercik)

1 tablespoon olive oil

A small handful of fresh parsley or coriander, finely chopped Seeds of half a pomegranate

2 tablespoons shelled roasted and salted pistachios

Rub the bread all over with the cut surface of the garlic clove, then cut it into rough cubes. Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the bread cubes over a medium heat until lightly golden on all sides. Tip them onto a plate lined with kitchen paper and set aside to drain.

Heat more oil in the same pan and add the aubergine chunks. Fry (in batches if necessary) until cooked through and golden all over, stirring from time to time so that they don’t “catch”. Aubergines take up a lot of oil when cooking, so add more if necessary. Transfer the cooked aubergines to another paper-lined plate. Cover them with a double layer of paper and press gently to blot up any excess oil, then set aside to cool while you make the dressing.

Put the pomegranate molasses, pul biber, honey, and tomato-pepper purée into a salad bowl and whisk together well. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and whisk again. Stir in the bread cubes, followed by the parsley, pomegranate seeds and pistachios, and finally the aubergine chunks. Taste, and adjust the seasoning if necessary; you may want to add some salt. Cover the bowl and let it stand for 20 minutes, to allow the flavours to mingle. Stir again before serving, to ensure both the aubergines and the croutons are well coated in the dressing.