Penetrating the Perplexing Pomegranate

With it's shiny red skin and a little top-knot where it's bud used to be the pomegranate is an attractive fruit;; so attractive that some biblical scholars believe that the pomegranate, not the apple, was the forbidden "fruit of knowledge" that got Adam and Eve evicted from Eden.

Lauded for its antioxidant properties, pomegranate juice is credited with the ability to help improve blood flow to the heart, reduce cholesterol, and even help correct erectile dysfunction. POM Wonderful has built a very profitable business around the pomegranate promoting both it's healthful benefits and the delectability of it's ruby red seeds thus prompting foodies to add pomegranate juice and seeds to everything from salads to martinis.

The pomegranate is native to Iran and northern India and has been cultivated in Mediterranean regions since ancient times. It also grows like a weed here in Arizona and is one of the harbingers of autumn for us desert dwellers. People who have pomegranate trees growing in their back yards here give bags of the fruit away in much the same way that Midwesterners leave boxes of tomato and zucchini overflow from their gardens on neighbors doorsteps.

Despite its pre-packaged popularity, the pomegranate in its natural state can be daunting. Perhaps it is no coincidence that the French word for pomegranate is "la grenade". It has a tough, leathery skin that once perforated reveals an intricate interior of garnet colored seeds enmeshed in membrane. To further complicate matters, these seeds are very juicy and that juice stains everything it touches a bright crimson. I ruined many an apron trying to pry the seeds out of pomegranates before an Iranian friend taught me a quick, clean method for extracting them.

Place a large bowl of water in the sink. Quarter the pomegranates and holding each quarter under water, gently extract the seeds with your thumb. The seeds will go to the bottom of the bowl and the dislodged pieces of membrane will float to the surface where they can be skimmed off and discarded. Drain the seeds and water into a colander. Three medium pomegranates will yield one generous cup of seeds. The seeds freeze well, so I package them in snack size baggies to use throughout the winter.

You can Google "pomegranate recipes" and find all kinds of ways to use these seeds. One of my favorites is this chicken dish.

Persian Pomegranate Walnut Chicken (Khoresht Fesenjaan)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast fillets

½ cup finely ground walnuts or pine nuts

1 ¼ cups pomegranate juice

½ cup pomegranate seeds

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Cook the onion until wilted. Add the chicken breasts and quickly brown on all sides. Remove the chicken and onions from the frying pan and set aside.

Add the ground walnuts or pine nuts and the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the frying pan and cook until the nuts start to brown, stirring continually, about 3-5 minutes.

Stir the pomegranate juice into the nuts and return the onion and chicken to the frying pan. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Garnish with the pomegranate seeds, and serve over either rice or couscous.