Conquering the Pomegranate This Rosh Hashanah

While the relationship linking Rosh Hashanah with apples and honey never grows old, the elegant and elusive pomegranate is less acknowledged, though profoundly tied to biblical literature and ancient agriculture. Pomegranate seeds offer the kind of culinary beauty that cause us to slow down, take note, and absorb the sacred spirit of newness. That being said, they can be a pain to wrangle.

Mollie Katzen can help. She has sold more than 6 million books, making her one of the best-selling cookbook authors of all-time. Here are Katzen’s strategies to help you conquer the pomegranate this Rosh Hashanah:

The easy (and un-messy) method for mining a pomegranate: have a big bowl of water ready. Cut the fruit into quarters, and submerge them. Peel them under water, and keep them in there as you comb through with your fingers to loosen the seeds. The skins and inedible pith will float to the surface (skim this away thoroughly, and discard), and the seeds will sink to the bottom. Strain, and you’ve got the goods.

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A delicious recipe perfect for Rosh Hashanah dinner because it combines two classic holiday foods, and balances the savory character of the meat with the pomegranate— which provides something sweet to symbolize a sweet new year.

Ingredients

• 5 lbs brisket
• 2 carrots
• 1 onion
• 2 leeks
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 4 cups pomegranate juice
• 3 oz pine nut (toasted)
• 1 bunch parsley
• 3 oz pomegranate seeds
• 3 cups red wine
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Directions

Clean brisket of skin and excess fat. Season brisket with salt and pepper and sear in a hot roasting pan until browned. Cut up the vegetables into large pieces and place around the brisket. Allow vegetable to cook for 3-5 minutes. Add all the wine and all but 1/4 cup of the pomegranate juice. Add bay and thyme, cover with aluminum and braise in a 350˚ oven for 3 1/2 hours or until tender. While brisket is cooking, combine chopped parsley, pine nuts, olive oil, lemon zest, pomegranate seeds and remaining pomegranate juice and hold to the side. For the last half hour of cooking, remove aluminum from brisket and allow to brown while glazing with the juices every 5 minutes.

When brisket is ready to be served, slice and place on a large platter. Spoon over the vegetables and pan juice and top with pomegranate/pine nut gremolata (lemon zest, garlic and parsley).[/tcontent]
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