Ingredient 4 - Pomegranates

Pomegranates are a fruit originating from the Middle East and Asia, which are becoming increasingly popular these days due to their rich antioxidant content.

The arils or ruby-coloured seed casings are the edible part of the fruit. A quick way to separate these from the rind and inedible pulp is to score the fruit in half, scoop out the flesh into a bowl, add some cold water and the arils should sink whereas the pulp will float.

This recipe only requires the juice from the fruits. However don’t discard the arils – instead add them to your bowl of morning muesli for some extra flavour. 

Peach tart with pomegranate sauce

Serves 8

Pomegranate sauce

4 pomegranates

½ cup water

½ cup caster sugar

2 tsp cold water

2 tsp cornflour

• Slice the pomegranates in half and scoop the flesh out into a large bowl. Use a mortar (or alternately the bottom end of a long glass) to smash the seeds, extracting the juice. Strain the juice through a sieve to remove the solids. The 4 fruits should produce around 2 cups of juice.
• Place the juice, water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to boil. Simmer gently for 15 minutes or until the liquid has reduced to half the original amount.
• Mix the cornflour and cold water in a mug and then add to the saucepan, gently simmering for a further 10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and coats the back of the spoon.
• Remove from heat and cool completely.
• The sauce can be kept in the fridge until desired. If you find it has thickened too much add a tbsp of hot water and stir well to thin it down.

Peach tart

1 piece of puff pastry

4 peaches

2 tbsp caster sugar

1 row of dark chocolate

• Preheat oven to 150°. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
• Cut the peaches in half, remove the seeds, and then slice the halves into pieces around 5mm in thickness. 
• Place the piece of pastry on the lined tray and then arrange the peach slices on top, leaving a 1cm border around the entire edge of the pastry. This allows the border to ‘puff up’ around the rectangle of peaches in the oven.
• Roughly chop up the chocolate, scatter the pieces over the peaches and sprinkle the tart with sugar.
• Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and edges have ‘puffed up’.
• Serve with vanilla icecream and pomegranate sauce.