The other day I had a nice surprise waiting for me in the mail. POM sent a case of 100% pomegranate juice for me to try. I was excited to open it up and try one because POM Peach Passion Tea is probably one of my favourite beverages of all time (makes great cocktails too). Upon unscrewing the caps off one of the gourd shaped bottles and taking a gulp, I’d have to say that there’s probably a reason why most of their products includes other juices.
Pure pomegranate juice is very tart, slightly bitter, and has a “healthy” taste. I wouldn’t say it’s bad… it just makes me want to mix it with other things. This of course got me thinking. Ever since I made lamb kebabs marinated in pomegranate molasses this summer, it’s become one of our favourite meals.
Given that it’s winter though, and currently 23 degrees F outside it’s not exactly grilling weather. Nor is it the kind of weather that makes you crave light summery foods. Still, I was pretty sure I could take the sweet, citrusy, floral flavors of the kebabs and intensify them to make a tagine that could fend off the calorie burning chill while reminding us of our favourite summer dish.
When cooked in a traditional tagine, the steam circulating through the conical lid helps gently cook the meat without adding a lot of braising liquid which makes for a rich unctuous sauce (a dutch oven works fine as well). I abandoned any notion of what flavors “should” be in a tagine and just layered the flavors until they were too my liking.
I started by browning the lamb to create a thick layer of fond on the bottom of the pot, which served as my base. Then I caramelized onions, ginger and a preserved Meyer lemon. This combo alone smelled fantastic, but I wanted to add a bit more depth and complexity, so in went some Vietnamese cinnamon and coriander seeds. For the liquid I added a small bottle of POM. As I mentioned before, pure pomegranate juice is really tart, so I finished the braising liquid with some dates for sweetness.
Two hours at a low temperature yielded melty tender lamb and a bright, rich sauce that was awesome on a fluffy bed of couscous.
Units
Ingredients
- olive oil
- 1 ½ pounds lamb stew meat (cut in large chunks)
- 1 onion (large sliced thin)
- 1 tablespoon ginger (minced)
- 1 preserved lemon (quartered)
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 8 ounces Bottle of POM (or other 100% pomegranate juice)
- ¼ cup dates (chopped)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Generously salt and pepper the lamb. Heat a tagine or dutch oven over medium heat until very hot. Add some olive oil and then the lamb. Do not disturb until nice and brown on one side. Use tongs to flip and brown the other side. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Lower oven rack to lower middle position and preheat to 275 degrees F.
- Add the onions, minced ginger and preserved lemon to the pan and saute for about 20 minutes. Add the cinnamon sticks and coriander seeds and continue caramelizing the onions another 10 minutes. Return the lamb to the pot, add the POM and dates. Bring to a boil and salt to taste.
- Cover and place in the oven. Braise for 1 1/2 hours or until the lamb is fork tender. Serve with cous cous.
Peter says
Free swag is always accepted and ever better when it can be consumed!
The coriander seeds and cinnamon…I can smell it now and the POM juice is no doubt responsible for the deep colour here.
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
That looks fantastic! I got some POM wonderful too and I wanted to use it in a dish and a tagine is a great idea. It reminds me of cranberry juice but quick thick, we found it best when watered down with mineral water or plain still water 🙂
Christie @ fig&cherry says
I got sent some POM too! I’m making it into a granita… stay tuned! 🙂
Delicious combination for the tagine too.
Peter says
Free swag is always accepted and ever better when it can be consumed!
The coriander seeds and cinnamon…I can smell it now and the POM juice is no doubt responsible for the deep colour here.
Christie @ fig&cherry says
I got sent some POM too! I’m making it into a granita… stay tuned! 🙂
Delicious combination for the tagine too.
Marc Matsumoto says
Mark, nope, a dutch oven or heavy pot will work just fine. Just make sure it has a tight fitting lid.
Thanks Giff, HoneyB and Darius!
CourtJ, must have been the blogdar. Let us know how it goes.
Melissa, if you try it, come back and tell us how it went.
Heather, I just checked out your POM and lamb dish. Looks great! Love the mint pistou.
Thanks Lorraine, I like the idea of watering it down it some mineral water.
Peter, I actually debated about the whole “accepting swag” thing, but free eventually won out:-)
Christie, looking forward to seeing your granita. That’s a great idea by the way since the pomegranate makes a great palette cleanser.
Marc Matsumoto says
Mark, nope, a dutch oven or heavy pot will work just fine. Just make sure it has a tight fitting lid.
Thanks Giff, HoneyB and Darius!
CourtJ, must have been the blogdar. Let us know how it goes.
Melissa, if you try it, come back and tell us how it went.
Heather, I just checked out your POM and lamb dish. Looks great! Love the mint pistou.
Thanks Lorraine, I like the idea of watering it down it some mineral water.
Peter, I actually debated about the whole “accepting swag” thing, but free eventually won out:-)
Christie, looking forward to seeing your granita. That’s a great idea by the way since the pomegranate makes a great palette cleanser.
Kevin (Closet Cooking) says
I have been wanting to try using lemon preserves and combining them with dates, pomegranate and cinnamon sounds good!
Kevin (Closet Cooking) says
I have been wanting to try using lemon preserves and combining them with dates, pomegranate and cinnamon sounds good!
thepinkpeppercorn says
I’ll bet the POM juice and meyer lemon is smashing. Fabulous!
thepinkpeppercorn says
I’ll bet the POM juice and meyer lemon is smashing. Fabulous!
large pot sale says
Oh!…that’s great helpful, it’s so right to me! Million thanks for the article,
Homemade canning says
Finally, and you will need to use all your self control for this tip, let the chutney mature before you eat it. Whilst you could put it away for a month or two, all my best tasting chutneys have been stored for 6-18 months before opening. It really does improve the maturity and flavor of the chutney.
Mike Ficus says
1. Is the preserved lemon sliced, whole, minced?
2. The Pomegranate juice is omitted from the ingredients list. How much?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Mike thanks for bringing this to my attention. During a move of the website a number of years ago, we had a problem where some of our older recipes randomly lost some fields in the ingredients list. I’ve restored the missing ingredients and notes for this one, but please let me know if you see this for any other recipes on our site.