Rose Scented Yoghurt Jelly with Pomegranate Jewels
It does not matter how depressing, damp and cold the winter becomes, this bright and beautiful dish will brighten up any drab and dreary winters day. With this recipe I celebrate the splendor and beauty of the jewel like fruit in season during the later winter months of December and February, the Pomegranate. Pomegranates are imported and mainly come from the Middle East, America, and South and East Asia. Pomegranates are said to have health benefits as they contain a high level of antioxidants and are rich in vitamin C, potassium and fibre.
For this recipe I combined floral rose water with the acidic and sharp taste of pomegranate. Rosewater is not everyone’s cup of tea and in my opinion and experience it should be used sparingly. Once the yogurt cream cools the flavour magnifies and the taste of the floral rose water becomes more prominent and can easily be over powering. Rosewater is easily found in many supermarkets, cook shops and even in a chemist.
I served the cream with crushed pistachio nuts, this adds a extra texture and nuttiness to the dish. The pomegranate juice is turned into a delicious jelly set with agar. A seaweed based gelling agent with a slightly unusual texture.
Ever wondered how to remove pomegranate seeds? Well let’s face it, this is a messy job. Best tip I can give is to make sure you are wearing your oldest clothing; as I have many time stained my clothes with pomegranate juice trying to remove the seeds. The best way is to take the pomegranate in both hands and give it a bit of a squeeze to loosen the seeds, you can feel them moving about inside, roll it on the chopping board as you would do before juicing lemons and oranges. Cut the pomegranate in half, place a deep bowl in the empty sink, hold the pomegranate over the bowl and use a wooden spoon to slap it so that the seeds falls into the bowl. You might get splashed with the juice but this method is fairly effective. Once the seeds are out pick the white interconnecting bits out. Drain the juice using a fine sieve and the jewels of seeds are ready to be used in either this dessert of in fresh winter salads.
Rose Scented Yoghurt Jelly
- 300ml double cream
- 300ml natural full fat yoghurt
- 75ml milk
- 40g caster sugar
- 2 leaves of gelatine, soaked in cold water
- Rose water to taste
- Pistachios for garnish
- Extra pomegranate seeds for garnish
- pomegranate molasses for garnish
Bring the cream, milk and sugar to the boil, simmer for one minute. Remove the cream from the heat, drain the soaked gelatine, and squeeze to remove the excess water and stir into the hot cream. Stir in the yoghurt and add rose water to taste.
Pass the mixture through a fine sieve and pour it into 5cm high x 6xm diameter dariole moulds, refrigerate to set.
Pomegranate Jelly Jewels
- 250ml fresh pomegranate juice
- 1.5g agar agar
Stir the agar agar in the cold pomegranate juice, bring the juice to the boil and simmer for one minute. Pour the juice into a clean plastic tray and leave to set at room temperature. Do not move the jelly until it’s completely set as the movement will disturb the agar and prevent the jelly from setting.
Once set cut the jelly into small cubes.
To Serve
Dip the yoghurt jelly mould into hot water, shake and release the jelly from the mould. Place the yoghurt jelly in position, garnish the plate with pomegranate molasses and scatter the pomegranate jelly, garnish the plate with chopped pistachios and fresh pomegranate seeds.
Serves 8
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Thank you.
Your recipes are really wonderful, fine and super beautiful
From Mexico I´m very happy to know about you.
Again Thanks for this pleasure
GRISSELDA ALAMO
MEXICO
This sounds wonderful.
When we were back in the UK this summer I picked a load of rosa rugosa petals — that’s the pink rose which grows profusely in sandy soil an espectially near the sea — and dried them slowly.
The scent is very perfumey and I think would work well in this recipe. Dried, it is reminiscent of rosewater but no where near as strong, far more delicate.
I just made a rose petal ice cream by infusing the petals in the milk to make the custard, which I strained out and discarded, and then added chopped “fresh” dried at the same time as the cream. The result is absolutely delicious!
I am going to try your panna cotta recipe usng the same principle of infusing the petals with the cream. I love the idea of the pomegranate jelly too.
I am sure you can find these roses in your neck of the woods — give them a try, they really are wonderul and a great addition to your foraging menu! Rose Petal Jam is next on my list of experiments
Thanks for the inspiration.
Cheers!
Liz
Dear Liz,
Thanks you for the inspiration to find these fantastic sounding roses. I’m with you on the rose petal jam, sounds delicious!
Happy Cooking
Madalene
Beautiful and simple a nice variation is to finish this dish with a little roseor pistachio pashmak.
Well done to Ross for winning the heat for Britian’s Best Dish.
For those users lucky enough to have a Thermomix the job of removing pomegranate seeds is even easier and much less messy.
Simply cut the pomegranate into 4, pop into the Thermomix bowl and process for 1 second on Reverse at speed 4. Check to see how many seeds have been shaken loose and give it another second if necessary.
that is beautiful! i love the two colours together!