Fresh pomegranate tartlets
PREPARATION
For the base
- Place the butter in a saucepan and melt it over heat.
- Add the biscuits into the food chopper and beat them to a powder. Add the melted butter and continue beating.
- Transfer the mixture to the individual tins and press gently with your hands, spreading the mixture evenly.
- Place the base in the refrigerator to cool.
For the pastry cream
In a bowl, add the pastry cream powder, the pomegranate juice and the milk and stir until the mixture becomes homogeneous.
To serve
Transfer the cream into a pastry bag and fill the tartlets.
Decorate the tartlets with pomegranate seeds, icing sugar and spearmint.
Pomegranate cheesecake
Beat the cookies with a mixer until they reach the texture of powder and place them in a bowl. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and pour it into the biscuit powder, mixing until homogeneous. Spread the mixture in a round mould and put it in the refrigerator to stabilise the base. Beat the fresh cream cheese, powdered sugar, lime and lemon zest, and vanilla extract with a mixer until they are well blended.
Add the crème fraiche and continue beating until a fluffy cream is formed. Spread the cream on the mould over the biscuit powder and put the mould back in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. When the cheesecake is well frozen, remove it from the mould and spread pomegranate jam on top (see recipe).
Sweet cream pie with pomegranate
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a 30x20cm baking tray with butter or margarine (using part of the 100g) and spread a sheet of pastry so that it also covers the walls. Spread butter or margarine and repeat with two more sheets.
Continue spreading the strained leaves one by one, sprinkling each one with butter or margarine. There should be an air gap between the sheets, so that they are not stuck together. Score the leaves into square pieces so that the cream penetrates and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
For the cream: Mix the milk, water, pomegranate juice, sugar, egg and vanillin in a bowl with a whisk. In a pot, lightly sauté the semolina with 50g butter or margarine over low heat, being careful not to burn it. Remove from the heat and add the milk mixture. Stir with the whisk until the mixture becomes homogeneous.
Remove the baking tray from the oven (after the leaves have been baked for 20 minutes and have turned slightly brown) and immediately pour the mixture. Put the tray back in the oven and bake for an additional 30 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and garnish with pomegranate seeds.
Pomegranate jam
Peel and cut the apples into small cubes. Put them in a pot together with the sugar and, over medium heat, let the sugar melt and the apple turn into mash. Then add the juice and some pomegranate seeds and mix. Bring to a boil and simmer for an additional 15 minutes, until lightly thickened. Add the lemon and boil for another 5 minutes. Carefully (using an oven mitt) fill the sterilised hot jars to the top (boil them in a pot over low heat for about 5-10 minutes) with the hot pomegranate jam. Seal the jars with their lids and turn them upside down until they cool. The jam is kept closed in its jar in a cool and shady place for several months. Once opened, it must be kept in the refrigerator.
Panna cotta with pomegranate juice
For the dessert:
In a bowl of cold water, soak the gelatin sheets until they soften. Put the milk, cream and sugar in a saucepan. Cut the vanilla sticks in half with a knife, remove the seeds and add them to the saucepan along with the pod. Let them come to a boil over medium heat and remove from heat.
Squeeze the gelatins well and add them to the saucepan mixture. Mix well with a hand whisk until melted. Let the panna cotta mixture cool for about 30 minutes (until it reaches room temperature) and remove the vanilla sticks. Fill special moulds with the mixture and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.
For the pomegranate dressing:
Keep separately 2 tbsp of the pomegranate juice and pour the rest into a saucepan. Add the sugar to the saucepan and boil over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
At the same time, dissolve the corn flour in the lemon juice and the pomegranate juice that has been kept separately. Add the dissolved corn flour to the syrup and mix. When it comes to a boil, remove from the heat. Let the sauce cool completely for at least 2 hours.
Serve with the sauce and garnish with the pomegranate seeds.
Cake with pomegranate juice
Beat the sunflower oil with the sugar in a mixer, then add the eggs one by one and then the orange zest. Then add the pomegranate juice. Gradually pour in the flour and mix until the mixture becomes homogeneous. Grease and flour a cake mould and add the mixture. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C in a hot air setting for about an hour (until the knife comes out clean). After it cools down, carefully invert it on a plate.
In a bowl add 2 tbsp water and the powdered sugar and mix to make the icing. For a thicker mixture, add more powdered sugar. Pour the icing over the cake and garnish with pomegranate seeds and orange zest.
Homemade cream with pomegranate juice
Pour the pomegranate juice, vanilla and cornflour into a saucepan and mix with a hand whisk until the mixture becomes homogeneous. Then boil at a low temperature, stirring constantly until the cream thickens. It should be still slightly fluid. Remove from heat and add the sugar. Continue stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. Place in bowls and garnish with lemon zest and pomegranate seeds. Serve the cream warm or cold.