I have 15 cups of freshly squeezed pomegranate juice. See how I did it here. My first project was pomegranate jelly. For that I used the clearest juice. I am reserving the juice that is less clear for granita in a couple of weeks. The juice will be frozen until I need it. Today I decided to make grenadine. Grenadine is pomegranate syrup. It is a common ingredient in fruity cocktails and often used in barbecue sauces used with pork or chicken. It can be used with other sauces for pork or chicken. It would also be nice with pears and apples.
I don't use it very often and have never tasted a homemade grenadine. This only took 15 minutes to make and I will store it in my refrigerator or freezer until I use it.
You will read in the recipe to reduce the pomegranate juice until half the volume. This has always been a challenge for me to decide when it has reduced the proper amount. Today I had a brainwave and measured the depth with a toothpick. I marked the halfway point and used it to judge my reduction. It is a very deep ruby red and not as pure red as store bought grenadine but the flavour is amazing.
How to Make Grenadine
1. Bring 2 cups of pomegranate juice to a boil.
2. Lower heat and simmer until it reduces in half. You can let it reduce more that half if you want it to be a bit thicker.
3. Add 1 cup of sugar and let it dissolve and bring back to a boil.
After juicing all my pomegranates I am ready to work with the beautiful, deep red, richly flavoured juice. After the labour of love to extract the juice, I wanted to be sure I had a tried and true recipe and I found it on the Bernardin website. I was not disappointed. It is crystal clear, richly flavoured and set very well. Not one to waste any good food, I used the foam that I skimmed off the boiling jelly in a barbecue sauce for pulled pork. It added that 'je ne sais quoi' to take it to the next level. Yummy!
Pomegranates are the highest in antioxidants of any fruit or berry. Nutrition and flavour in one package. I know we all think of them as too much work but watch this You Tube video with Martha Stewart. I tried her method to extract the arils and it works! No need to go under water any more.
Pomegranate Jelly
Pomegranates are an excellent fruit for making jelly.
Makes about 6 x 250 ml jars.
5 lbs (2.3 kg) pomegranates
1 pkg (57 g) BERNARDIN® Original Fruit Pectin
5 cups (1250 ml) granulated sugar
• Place 6 clean 250 ml mason jars on a rack in a boiling water canner; cover jars with water and heat to a simmer (180°F/82°C). Set screw bands aside. Heat SNAP LID® sealing discs in hot water, not boiling (180°F/82°C). Keep jars and sealing discs hot until ready to use.
• Measure sugar; set aside.
• Measure 3-1/2 (875 ml) cups juice into a large deep stainless steel saucepan. Whisk in BERNARDIN® Original Pectin until dissolved and add 1/2 tsp (2 ml) butter or margarine to reduce foaming, if desired.
• Over high heat, bring mixture to a full rolling boil. Add all the sugar. Stirring constantly, return mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Boil hard 1 minute. Remove from heat; skim foam if necessary.
• Quickly ladle hot jelly into a hot jar to within 1/4 inch (.5 cm) of top rim (headspace). Using nonmetallic utensil, remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rim removing any stickiness. Centre hot sealing disc on clean jar rim. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip tight. Return filled jar to rack in canner ensuring jars are covered by water. Repeat for remaining jelly.
• When canner is filled, ensure that all jars are covered by at least one inch (2.5 cm) of water. Cover canner and bring water to full rolling boil before starting to count processing time. At altitudes up to 1000 ft (305 m), process – boil filled jars – 10 minutes.
• When processing time is complete, turn stove off, remove canner lid, wait 5 minutes, then remove jars without tilting and place them upright on a protected work surface. Cool upright, undisturbed 24 hours; DO NOT RETIGHTEN screw bands.
• After cooling check jar seals. Sealed discs curve downward and do not move when pressed. Remove screw bands; wipe and dry bands and jars. Store screw bands separately or replace loosely on jars, as desired. Label and store jars in a cool, dark place. For best quality, use home canned foods within one year.
Boxing Day is the day after Christmas. I am not sure where in the world it is observed outside Canada and Great Britain. It is the biggest shopping day of the year. It is the Canadian equivalent of Black Friday.
I spent my day juicing pomegranates. It was a quiet day in my kitchen with 32 pomegranates. I was prepared for the splatters of red.
Thanks to Deana at lostpastremembered I used a citrus juicer to extract the rich sweet and delicious juice.
It took about an hour and I had 15 cups of fresh pomegranate juice. I have been letting it settle in the refrigerator. Some solids settle to the bottom leaving a clear juice on top. My imagination is running wild right now. What will I do with all this gorgeous ruby liquid.
I will make jelly with the clear juice. I will freeze some of the juice to make granita in a few weeks. And I will luxuriate with fresh juice for breakfast for a few days.
We made this salad at one of the cooking classes and it was a hit. Even those who didn't think they liked blue cheese loved this salad. I made it again yesterday for a Christmas dinner package I delivered. I hope they enjoy it as much as I do.
Pear and Roguefort Salad
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
3 firm ripe Anjou or Bartlett pears
8 cups spring greens
2 ounces Roquefort cheese, crumbled
Whisk together mustrd, vinegar, salt and pepper to taste in a bowl. Add 1/4 cup oil in a slow stream as you whisk to maintain an emulsion. Add in shallots.
Toast pecans in a dry pan.
Halve and core pears and coarsely chop. Toss all and serve immediately. Garnish with pomegranate seeds.
When you have confit of duck in the refrigerator it is so easy to make a quick and lovely meal. I paired it with a simple risotto and garnished with pomegranate seeds. The pomegranate seeds were not only a garnish but added a wonderful fresh flavour to the dish.
Sear the duck skin side down to render out the fat. And then gently heat until warmed through. Place atop risotto.
Today I am making a big batch of tourtière. This is a traditional Quebeçois meat pie that is usually served Christmas eve and throughout the Christmas season.
I rarely make pies, sweet or savoury. It is a meditation to roll the pastry, fit it in the dish, fill the pie, roll the pastry and crimp the edges. I am making 4 at a time.
I forget little things like not trimming the bottom crust until after the filling is added. This way it won't shrink down too low. I also leave the top crust to rest for awhile before trimming.
I had a request at the Market yesterday for a spice mixture for Hot Apple Cider. Why did I not think of this? It would have been a hit at the Market! Next year.
I came up with these little bouquet garni. Simmer with 8 - 10 cups of apple cider or unrefined apple juice. Add 1/4 cup of brown sugar or maple syrup and serve.
Hot Apple Cider Bouquet Garni
Cut a double thickness of fine cheesecloth into 3 - 4 inch squares. Use pinking shears if you have them for a nice finish. Fill each with the following mixture -
I broke the cinnamon stick in half and tied one half outside the bag for decoration. I broke the other half into little pieces and put them inside the bag. A trick to dry orange zest is to use the microwave oven. I used finely grated orange zest and microwaved for about 50 seconds. Do check it often because it can burn easily.
I had made a mushroom cap appetizer for a cocktail party and was too frugal to throw away the mushroom stems. I just had to make some mushroom soup. This recipe was perfect. The mushroom mixture was pureed so no worry about just using the stems. This is so earthy and satisfying for a cold winter night.
Cream of Mushroom Soup
Bon Appétit | May 2001
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
3 leeks, halved, thinly sliced (white and pale green parts only)
2 pounds button mushrooms, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup long-grain white rice
31/4 cups (or more) canned low-salt chicken broth
31/4 cups canned beef broth
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add leeks and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Add mushrooms and sauté until mushrooms are soft and dry, about 10 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Stir in rice. Add 31/4 cups chicken broth and beef broth to pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until rice is very tender, about 30 minutes. Cool slightly. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return soup to pot. Stir in cream. Thin with more chicken broth, if desired. (Soup can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly, cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before serving.)
Ladle soup into 8 bowls. Sprinkle with chives and serve.
In my last post I mentioned pissaladière. A most important part is the puff pastry. And we are all so afraid to make this delicate pastry. This recipe is so easy and so reliable. Just give it a try!
Quick Puff Pastry
adapted from Menus from an Orchard Table by Heidi Noble
3 cups bread flour
1 cup pastry flour
2 cups unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
2 cups whipping cream
1/2 tsp salt
See all the lovely layers of dough. This will make it fluffy upon baking.
Sift the flours and salt into a bowl. Add the butter and toss to coat. Pour in the cream and toss to soak up all the liquid. On a lightly floured surface roll the dough away from you into a rectangle. Fold the dough into thirds. Turn the dough 90 degrees and roll it out again to a rectangle. Wrap and refrigerate.
Remove from the refrigerator and repeat the 2 turns and folds. refrigerate again for one hour. Remove from the refrigerator for a second time and repeat the 2 turns and folds. Refrigerate again for one hour. Roll to the desired thickness and refrigerator or freeze for 1 hour. Bake at 400F until evenly golden, but the darker the better.
I have been so so busy with cooking classes and the Farmer's Market that blogging has not even been on my radar. I took a few pictures of my cooking class 'Exploring the Foods of the French Mediterranean'. We had a wonderful evening. I had ten guests with an open mind and adventurous palate.
They arrived to a glass of Blanc de Blanc from France. The champagne locally available is so expensive and I thought this chardonnay prepared in the champagne style might work. I really enjoyed it. And at half the price, it would be my pick for a bubbly this New Year's Eve.
Our first taste was pissaladière. This is a puff pastry crust with carmelized onion, anchovy, caper and black olive topping. Serve this warm and it is a nice little bite with the bubbly.
The meal went like this.... Pear and Roguefort Salad alongside the Cassoulet. I had made confit of duck, cooked flageolet beans and added lamb and mild Italian sausage to this classic country dish. Two days later it was even better. Confit of duck is an absolute must to make a wonderful cassoulet.
Dessert was a Walnut Tarte and a Buche de Noel. I had so much fun.
I don't use it very often and have never tasted a homemade grenadine. This only took 15 minutes to make and I will store it in my refrigerator or freezer until I use it.
