pomegranate-roasted grapes

i’m still loving maria elia’s middle eastern chicken kebab, and cooked it again a week ago for a couple of friends who came round for a mid-week supper. i split the preparation, marinating the meat overnight and then searing and assembling it on the skewers a day in advance.

i also made these roasted grapes with pomegranate molasses the night before, having heard a friend rave about them as an accompaniment to grilled halloumi.

they are very simple – seedless grapes are tossed with a teaspoon or two of pomegranate molasses and a sprinkling of demerara sugar then roasted at 220c for 8-10 minutes. the grapes will start to burst at this point and develop a lovely sweet and sour flavour with the molasses and sugar.

i also tried making a batch of thyme-roasted grapes (tossed with olive oil, salt and thyme) but really didn’t like the combination of sweet, salty, oily and herbs. on the other hand the pomegranate roasted version was delicious and even converted a halloumi sceptic!

aubergine-wrapped halloumi with pomegranate dressing

 

last year i had a really delicious meal at maria elia’s restaurant, joe’s,  and so when i noticed she had a new book out, i couldn’t resist picking up a copy.  quite a few of the recipes in full of flavour have caught my eye, not least a chicken liver pate that, unlike every other version i have ever made, is not loaded with butter. however, it was something simple that i kicked off with – halloumi cheese, sprinkled with lemon and oregano then wrapped in aubergine, warmed through under the grill and served with a pomegranate dressing.

dennis cotter has a similar recipe, but in his case the aubergine-wrapped halloumi has a roast garlic and shallot raita accompaniment. however, as with dennis’ recipe, it is the dressing that is the star of the show and what brings the dish together, halloumi and aubergine both being ingredients that happily allow other flavours to shine.

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roasted vegetables with a saffron yoghurt dressing

 

i’ve made this ottolenghi salad twice in the past couple of weeks, most recently alongside couscous-stuffed lamb, and have really loved it each time.

the original recipe just uses roasted aubergines but i think you can use other roasted vegetables as well (or instead) quite easily – i added courgettes (griddled rather than roasted) each time and this worked really well.

what makes it special is the garlicky saffron yoghurt dressing and the freshness and crunch that comes from sprinkling the finished dish with pomegranate seeds and toasted pine nuts (in fact, eating the final spoonfuls, which usually include an abundance of pine nuts and pomegranate, was something that friends did each time i served this dish!).

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roasted aubergine with oregano and pomegranate

 

thanks for all the oregano suggestions. my starting point was greek roast lamb – i made a marinade of oregano, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper which was rubbed over the lamb the night before it was cooked.

we ate this with a side dish based on the ottolenghi suggestion – roasted aubergine with oregano and tahini. i skipped the tahini in favour of a radish tzatziki and fiddled about with the oregano marinade which is spooned over the cooked aubergine. the pomegranate was a bit of a wild card (it needed using up) but worked really well, keeping the dish light and fresh tasting.

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lamb and aubergine pilaf

roast lamb invariably results in leftovers, which can easily be turned into quick and delicious packed lunches or suppers.

this pilaf  was very simple to pull together – leftover lamb was mixed with basmati rice, roasted aubergine, chickpeas, a glug of pomegranate molasses (this has an intense sour flavour – you could use tamarind paste or lemon juice in its place) plus lots of chopped mint and flat-leaf parsley.