Cooking
I can barely believe it, but my bottle of pomegranate molasses is almost empty! To think I bought it just a little over six months ago. I have gotten a lot of mileage out of it--stews, marinades, salad dressing, kebabs and now, barbecue sauce. It occurred to me just a few weeks ago that its distinctive tangy flavor would be perfect for ribs or meaty vegetables like mushrooms or eggplant. So I began experimenting with it until I came up with a recipe I liked.
Fresh pomegranate is a labor intensive ingredient, but pomegranate molasses adds a rich taste to sauces, soups and stews with a minimum of effort. My theory is that it is used in Middle Eastern cooking much like wine is used in Western cooking. It adds fruitiness, acidity and depth of flavor, though unlike wine, it is already "reduced" to a thick syrupy consistency. It also adds a beautiful dark ruby color to glazed meats or vegetables. I particularly like the Cortas brand which you can find in Middle Eastern markets and gourmet shops. At under $3 for a 10oz bottle, it's a bargain.
I often make country style pork ribs because they are inexpensive, readily available in supermarkets and you can cook them easily in the oven. Boil the ribs for 30 minutes, then coat them with barbecue sauce and bake in a 400 degree oven, for 20 minutes, basting frequently. Almost any barbecue sauce will work, but this one helps cut through the richness of the meat.
Tangy Pomegranate Barbecue Sauce
Makes 3/4 cup
Ingredients
1/2 cup ketchup
3 Tablespoons pomegranate molasses
2 Tablespoons honey
1 clove of garlic
Hot sauce to taste (such as Tabasco)
Instructions
Press the garlic through a garlic press, add the rest of the ingredients and stir until thoroughly mixed. Add as many drops of hot sauce as you like. Use this sauce on spare ribs, chicken, tempeh, eggplant, or portabello mushrooms. The flavor of the sauce will intensify when it cooks.
Enjoy!
- Barbecue Sauce Reviews
Right now I have three open bottles of barbecue sauce in my fridge. I received each one as a sample to try. Welcome to the life of a food writer and frequent specialty food reviewer. So here's my feeling about barbecue sauce, the best barbecued meat...
- Basic Pomegranate Marinade Recipe
I have two basic pomegranate marinades. This second one is fantastic on salmon! The maple brings out the woodsy flavors if you cook it on a cedar plank. There are tons of chili sauces on the market and pomegranate molasses can vary greatly in quality....
- Pomegranate Syrup
Are you convinced that it's a good idea to buy pomegranate syrup yet? If not, let me tell you about what I made for dinner yesterday. Eggplant and lentil stew with pomegranate molasses. The recipe is in an article written by Paula Wolfert in the...
- Pomegranate Lamb Kebabs With Cucumber Salad Recipe
It's that time again! Is my blog burning is a virtual event created by a fellow blogger Alberto who came up with the idea of many people cooking versions on a single theme in the space of a day. There have been IMBB events on themes such as tartines,...
- Dining With The Bloggers - February 16th
This week Zarah and I decided to try out some ingredients we’ve never cooked with before. My first new-to-me ingredient is pomegranate molasses. Amy at Cooking with Amy has been raving about this stuff for quite some time now and had really piqued my...
Cooking
Pomegranate Barbecue Sauce:Recipe
I can barely believe it, but my bottle of pomegranate molasses is almost empty! To think I bought it just a little over six months ago. I have gotten a lot of mileage out of it--stews, marinades, salad dressing, kebabs and now, barbecue sauce. It occurred to me just a few weeks ago that its distinctive tangy flavor would be perfect for ribs or meaty vegetables like mushrooms or eggplant. So I began experimenting with it until I came up with a recipe I liked.
Fresh pomegranate is a labor intensive ingredient, but pomegranate molasses adds a rich taste to sauces, soups and stews with a minimum of effort. My theory is that it is used in Middle Eastern cooking much like wine is used in Western cooking. It adds fruitiness, acidity and depth of flavor, though unlike wine, it is already "reduced" to a thick syrupy consistency. It also adds a beautiful dark ruby color to glazed meats or vegetables. I particularly like the Cortas brand which you can find in Middle Eastern markets and gourmet shops. At under $3 for a 10oz bottle, it's a bargain.
I often make country style pork ribs because they are inexpensive, readily available in supermarkets and you can cook them easily in the oven. Boil the ribs for 30 minutes, then coat them with barbecue sauce and bake in a 400 degree oven, for 20 minutes, basting frequently. Almost any barbecue sauce will work, but this one helps cut through the richness of the meat.
Tangy Pomegranate Barbecue Sauce
Makes 3/4 cup
Ingredients
1/2 cup ketchup
3 Tablespoons pomegranate molasses
2 Tablespoons honey
1 clove of garlic
Hot sauce to taste (such as Tabasco)
Instructions
Press the garlic through a garlic press, add the rest of the ingredients and stir until thoroughly mixed. Add as many drops of hot sauce as you like. Use this sauce on spare ribs, chicken, tempeh, eggplant, or portabello mushrooms. The flavor of the sauce will intensify when it cooks.
Enjoy!
- Barbecue Sauce Reviews
Right now I have three open bottles of barbecue sauce in my fridge. I received each one as a sample to try. Welcome to the life of a food writer and frequent specialty food reviewer. So here's my feeling about barbecue sauce, the best barbecued meat...
- Basic Pomegranate Marinade Recipe
I have two basic pomegranate marinades. This second one is fantastic on salmon! The maple brings out the woodsy flavors if you cook it on a cedar plank. There are tons of chili sauces on the market and pomegranate molasses can vary greatly in quality....
- Pomegranate Syrup
Are you convinced that it's a good idea to buy pomegranate syrup yet? If not, let me tell you about what I made for dinner yesterday. Eggplant and lentil stew with pomegranate molasses. The recipe is in an article written by Paula Wolfert in the...
- Pomegranate Lamb Kebabs With Cucumber Salad Recipe
It's that time again! Is my blog burning is a virtual event created by a fellow blogger Alberto who came up with the idea of many people cooking versions on a single theme in the space of a day. There have been IMBB events on themes such as tartines,...
- Dining With The Bloggers - February 16th
This week Zarah and I decided to try out some ingredients we’ve never cooked with before. My first new-to-me ingredient is pomegranate molasses. Amy at Cooking with Amy has been raving about this stuff for quite some time now and had really piqued my...