Cumin-Coriander Roast Carrots with Pomegranates and Avocado

Who wouldn’t want more ideas for cooking simple meals at home? This is the goal of the latest book from Diana Henry, Simple: Effortless Food, Big Flavors, and I received a review copy. I agree completely with her statement that “You don’t need many skills to feed yourself, your friends, and family well… What we mostly lack are ideas.” This book is full of great ones for quick, weeknight meals. There are a few dishes that take a little longer to prepare, but they’re not difficult. She repeatedly offers suggestions for substitutions or things that can be omitted to further simplify or personalize the recipes without sacrificing flavor. From Eggs to Salads to Pulses to Chicken, Vegetables, and more, the chapters cover a broad range of meals and parts of meals. As often happens as I read cookbooks, I ended up with sticky flags marking several pages. I marked the recipe for Linguine All’Amalfitana because I’d never before seen this particular pasta sauce with garlic, anchovies, and walnuts. The Smoky Couscous sounds fabulous with smoked paprika, lemon, green olives, almonds, and roasted red peppers. Then, the sauce for the Pork Chops with Mustard and Capers is so simple to make but sounds so delicious, I want to try it on roasted chicken. There are some tempting, easy desserts as well with a whole chapter of Fruit Desserts followed by Other Sweet Things. The Bitter Flourless Chocolate Cake with Coffee Cream got my attention, and now I’m going to want espresso in my whipped cream all the time. Next, I turned to the Salads chapter where I couldn’t decide where to start. 

My indecision was due to two different salads involving roasted carrots. In the Harissa Roast Carrots, White Beans, and Dill recipe, the carrots are roasted with harissa, and lemon slices are roasted with them and added to the salad. I loved the idea of the roasted lemon slices. In the recipe for Cumin-Coriander Roast Carrots with Pomegranates and Avocado, the carrots are roasted with a drizzle of olive oil, cumin seeds, crushed coriander seeds, and crushed red chile flakes. I ended up going with the second option and adding lemon slices to the pan while the carrots roasted. This salad was a bright mix of pomegranate seeds, avocado slices, a tangy dressing with pomegranate molasses, and crunchy walnuts. I used frisee that I found at Boggy Creek Farm rather than watercress for the salad greens. And, I had some pretty and colorful carrots from my CSA. My carrots were different sizes. So, some of them were halved and other quartered lengthwise before roasting. Also, I don't have cilantro growing in my herb garden right now, but I do have parsley and used that instead. 

As promised, there was nothing difficult about making this. It was all about the ideas, and I was delighted to combine some from two different recipes. In between the pages for the two salads with carrots, there’s one for Burrata with Citrus, Fennel, and Olives that kept making me stop and think about it as well. With so much inspiration here, I won’t run out of ideas for what to have for dinner for a long time. 

Cumin-Coriander Roast Carrots with Pomegranates and Avocado 
Recipe reprinted with publisher’s permission from Simple: Effortless Food, Big Flavors. 

Serves 6 as an appetizer, or 8 as a side dish 

For the salad 
30 young carrots, ideally slim 
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 
2 teaspoons cumin seeds 
1 1/2 teaspoons coriander seeds, crushed 
1 teaspoon chili flakes 
salt and pepper 
3 ripe avocados 
3 1/2 tablespoons walnut pieces, toasted 
3 1/2 oz watercress, coarse stalks removed leaves from a small bunch of cilantro 
1 cup Greek yogurt 
1 garlic clove, crushed 
seeds from 1/2 pomegranate 

For the dressing 
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses 
1 garlic clove, crushed 
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard 
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 
1/4 teaspoon honey 
squeeze of lemon juice 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Trim the carrots at the top but leave a little of the green tuft on. If you can’t find slim carrots, halve or quarter large ones. Don’t peel the; just wash them well. Put in a roasting pan in which they can lie in a single layer. Add the olive oil, spices, and seasoning. Turn the carrots over in this to ensure they are all well coated. Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes; they will become tender and shrink slightly. Be careful not to overcook them. 

To make the dressing, just beat everything together with a fork. Halve and pit the avocados, cut into slices, then carefully peel each slice. Put everything except the yogurt, garlic, and pomegranates into a broad shallow bowl (or onto a platter) and gently toss in three-quarters of the dressing. Mix the yogurt with the garlic and dot spoonfuls of this among the vegetables, then scatter with the pomegranate seeds. Spoon on the rest of the dressing and serve. 

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Meyer Lemon Tea Cakes with Pomegranate Glaze

As I started reading a review copy of Sweet by Valerie Gordon of Valerie’s Confections in Los Angeles, the first thing I liked about the book was the one-word chapter titles. Pedestal (celebration desserts), Plate (everyday cakes), Tin (pies and tarts), Box (chocolates and confections), Bowl (desserts to eat with a spoon), Jar (cookies and bars), Larder (jams and marmalades), and Hand (breakfast and snacks to eat on the go). Each title defines the category so well and so simply and directs you to options for every possible occasion. Valerie’s Confections began as a boutique for toffees and chocolates and has grown to offer a wide variety of sweets. I was fascinated with the recipes for cakes from the past. Through research and trial and error, well-loved cakes from Los Angeles bakeries and restaurants that no longer exist have been recreated. Blum’s Coffee Crunch Cake, topped with coffee whipped cream and shards of a coffee-flavored, honeycomb kind of candy, looks delightful, and I have to try The Brown Derby Grapefruit Cake with cream cheese and grapefruit juice frosting during citrus season. The truffles, toffees, and caramels would all make great holiday gifts, and there are tips for packaging them beautifully. In fact, there are helpful tips throughout the book for making your sweets as pretty as they can be including best ways to frost cakes, how to score toffee before it sets, and how to candy rose petals or mint leaves for garnish. And, I was thrilled to learn of Valrhona pearls which are chocolate-coated bits of puffed cereal that dress up the vertical surface of a frosted layer cake. I made several mental notes of fancy cakes I’d like to attempt some day, but the recipes I wanted to try right away were the Salted-Peanut Blondies, the Hazelnut Orange Cakes with Orange Glaze, the Tangerine Sour Cream Pound Cake, and the Meyer Lemon Tea Cakes with Pomegranate Glaze. 

These are pretty, little, lemon, mini cakes with a pink topping from the pomegranate juice in the glaze. In the headnote of this recipe, it’s mentioned that these are popular items in the spring and summer, but I couldn’t wait to make them. And to me, Meyer lemon and pomegranate are fall ingredients. That’s when the Meyer lemons on my trees ripen and I get very excited to use them in new and different ways. The recipe makes 24 mini cakes, so I cut the quantities in half to make 12. Also, I used a muffin tin rather than mini cake pans. The little cakes are tender-crumbed and delicious with butter, creme fraiche, Meyer lemon zest and juice in the batter, and it’s an easy batter to make. It was scooped into buttered muffin tin cups and baked for about 20 minutes. After cooling, the cakes were dipped into the thin glaze, and they were left to dry. The cakes keep very well, and it’s noted in the book that they freeze well too before being glazed. 

These tea cakes are perfect for dessert, snacks, or tea time or for whenever you can get Meyer lemons. Next, I need to decide which candies to make for the holidays. It’s going to be fun having one more book on the shelf for sweets for all occasions. 

Meyer Lemon Tea Cakes with Pomegranate Glaze 
Recipe reprinted with publisher’s permission. Excerpted from Sweet by Valerie Gordon (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2013. Photographs by Peden + Munk. 

makes 24 individual cakes 

We feature this cake every spring and summer at our farmers’ market booths, and time and again I hear the same question, “What is that?!” The jolt of pretty, pastel pink glaze always elicits a response from children and adults alike. Mini-cake pans, with 12 cups each, are available online. 




for the cakes: 
3 1/3 cups (17.3 ounces) all-purpose flour 
3/4 teaspoon baking powder 
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 
3 3/4 sticks (15 ounces) unsalted butter, softened 
2 1/4 cups (15.75 ounces) sugar 
1/2 cup (4 ounces) creme fraiche 
6 large eggs 
1/3 cup grated Meyer lemon zest 
1/2 cup (4 ounces) Meyer lemon juice 

for the pomegranate glaze: 
2 cups (9 ounces) confectioners’ sugar 
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 
1 tablespoon unsweetened pomegranate juice 

to make the cakes: 
1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Coat 24 large muffin cups or 3-inch mini-cake pans with nonstick baking spray or butter. 

2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. 

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl, using a handheld mixer), cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. 

4. Mix the creme fraiche, eggs, lemon zest, and juice together in a small bowl with a fork or small whisk. With the mixer on medium speed, alternately add the dry and wet ingredients in batches and continue beating until the batter is smooth, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl, about 3 minutes. 

5. Using a large ice cream scoop or a large spoon, scoop approximately 1/2 cup batter into each prepared muffin or cake cup. Bake for 18 minutes, or until the tops of the cakes appear matte and the shiny center has disappeared; do not bake until the cakes turn golden. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 5 minutes before removing them. Cool the cakes completely on a cooling rack before glazing, about 1 hour. 

to make the glaze: 
1. Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a medium bowl. Add the lemon juice and pomegranate juice and stir with a small spatula until completely smooth. Let the glaze sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before using.to glaze the cakes 

2. Pour the glaze into a wide shallow bowl. One at a time, pick up each cake, rotate the cake so the top is facing down, and dip it into the glaze. Carefully move the cake in a slow, circular motion so the entire surface is coated with glaze, then shake the cake gently so any excess glaze falls back in the bowl and put on a baking sheet. Put the cakes in a cool, dry area and let stand until the glaze loses its sheen and sets, about 20 minutes. 

storing: Once the glaze has set, the cakes can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. 

tip: If you want to freeze some or all of these cakes for future use, freeze them unglazed and then glaze them only after they are completely defrosted. This recipe makes a lot of little cakes—feel free to halve it if you like. 

I am a member of the Amazon Affiliate Program.

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Pomegranate-Glazed Salmon with Armenian Rice

I've been thinking about this dish for a long time. I made it for the first time ages ago, but I failed to take any photos. I don't remember why, but I must have been rushed. Since then, I kept remembering the citrus and ginger in the salmon marinade, the tart pomegranate molasses in the glaze, the buttery rice, and the pretty edamame and pomegranate seed garnish. It was time to make this again and this time with a camera in hand. The recipe is from the December 2009 issue of Food and Wine, and it's available online. Now, fresh, wild salmon and pomegranates are not in season at the same time, but this dish works well with previously frozen salmon. Whole Foods must have read my mind because just when I pulling out this recipe again, there was a special on wild salmon that had been frozen at the peak of the last season. The thawed and portioned salmon fillet does need to be marinated for about an hour, but then finishing the dish goes quickly.

For the marinade, soy sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, lime juice, agave nectar, smashed garlic cloves, grated ginger, and salt and pepper were combined. The salmon pieces were placed in a shallow dish, covered with the marinade, and refrigerated for an hour. While the salmon marinates, you can make the glaze which is a mix of pomegranate molasses, agave nectar, soy sauce, minced garlic, grated ginger, and lime zest. Next, you should start the Armenian rice. The rice recipe makes a huge quantity, and I cut it in half. To start, butter was melted in a large saucepan, and then vermicelli broken into small pieces was added with pine nuts. That was cooked until everything was golden brown, and long-grain rice was added. Chicken stock was added and brought to a boil before reducing the heat to low, covering the pan, and cooking for 25 minutes. When cooked, the rice was fluffed and chopped mint was added. The salmon was placed on a baking sheet, brushed with half of the glaze, and cooked under the broiler for a few minutes. The rest of the glaze was brushed on the salmon, and it finished cooking for a few more minutes. To serve, the salmon was set on the rice, and the plate was garnished with edamame and pomegranate seeds.

The big, fresh, tart, and savory flavors carried by the salmon were highlighted by the pop of the pomegranate seeds, and the mild, nutty, herby rice was a great contrast. It's not all that often that I circle back and make the same thing twice, and I was thrilled to find this dish was definitely as good as I remembered.

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Pomegranate Manhattan

Whether the holidays drive you to drink or the drinks are just part of the fun of celebrating, this is a good cocktail recipe to have on hand. I received a sample of PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur and was interested in several ideas from the accompanying recipe booklet. A PAMA margarita or martini would have been nice, but the thought of pomegranate flavor with bourbon in a Manhattan was something I had to try. First I tasted a sip of the PAMA liqueur on its own, and it was very much like pomegranate juice. This is not a sweet or syrupy liqueur. The flavor is very well-balanced, and it adds nice color to a finished cocktail.

A classic Manhattan includes bourbon, sweet vermouth, and bitters and is garnished with lemon peel and a maraschino cherry. The recipe in the PAMA booklet, replaced the vermouth with PAMA, omitted the bitters, and added a splash of soda water. I decided to create a sort of hybrid mix of that recipe and the classic. A cocktail pitcher was filled with ice, bourbon, PAMA, and bitters were added, the mixture was stirred until chilled, it was poured over ice in two small glasses, and it was topped with sparkling water and garnished.

I’ve always been a bourbon fan, and I was very happy with the way its flavor mingled with that of pomegranate. I used angostura bitters, and just a couple of dashes added a distinctive note. I can imagine a lot of delicious uses of PAMA liqueur, and I’ll definitely try the margarita eventually, but for a sophisticated twist on a classic cocktail this pomegranate Manhattan would be hard to beat.

Pomegranate Manhattan
2 ounces bourbon
1 1/2 ounces PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur
2 dashes angostura bitters
Sparkling water
Lemon peel and maraschino cherries such as Silver Palate brand

-Fill a cocktail pitcher with ice. Pour bourbon, PAMA, and bitters over ice, and add dashes of bitters. Stir until chilled. Strain cocktail into two small glasses with ice and top with sparkling water. Garnish each with lemon peel and a cherry.

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