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I wanted to make a recipe with pomegranate! But I didn’t want it to be the typical pomegranate recipe just with the ruby-red seeds on top. No, I wanted a pomegranate recipe! To represent this incredibly beautiful fruit in a worthy and surprising way.. (i was far from imagine how surprising that would really be)
Talking a little bit about the pomegranate, before we actually get into the recipe itself, this red fruit that can be sweet or very sour, depending of its varieties, is a fruit full of life! Pomegranate is believed to be one of the first fruits to be grown on the entire planet! Native to Iran and the Himalayas in northern India, pomegranate has been cultivated throughout the Mediterranean region of Asia, Africa and Europe, and migrated to eastern China where it has been cultivated since the pre-Christian era!
Another interesting fact about this fruit comes from Egypt, where the pomegranate was so revered that it began to be painted on the tombs symbolizing life after death!
Over the centuries the pomegranates have traveled the world, and everywhere it have been symbol of life, resurrection, strength and power. From its color to its form, everything has been a source of inspiration for thinkers, kings, artists, warriors, who read it in their own way and gave it its own symbolism, always linked with something divine and superior.
Even modern artistic movements such as post-impressionism, fauvism, cubism, and surrealism have had pomegranate as their source of inspiration, and we can see works by Cezanne, Matisse, Picasso, and even Dalí where the pomegranate is portrayed and exalted.
Let’s say that all this hype around the pomegranate was not unreasonable, cause this fruit is truly a source of life.
A single pomegranate can give us more than half of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin C and Vitamin K plus a huge amount of antioxidants !!
“Pomegranates are high in antioxidants. In fact, dried pomegranate seeds are one of the most-antioxidant-packed dried fruits.”
The list of benefits of this fruit is extensive as well as its history, and i could share much more about it, but I know you are already excited for the recipe, so let’s move on to it without further delay.
SURPRISING | ELEGANT | MAGIC | GLUTEN FREE | SUGAR FREE | LIGHT | EASY
Before I start explaining the recipe step-by-step, I need to share with you that something very magical has happened throughout the process of making it! It all started because I wanted to use pomegranate juice to create the main layer of the tart. I put the arils of about five pomegranates in a food processor, and blend it all, then strained all the content to get only the pomegranate juice. The process is super simple, and I can assure you it is well worth it, freshly made pomegranate juice is absolutely delicious!
Well, I took that juice, and put it in a pan with the soy milk and the agar-agar. I turned on the heat and boiled it to create the “cream”. So far so good, and nothing out of normal! The pink color of pomegranate juice was slightly less pink and a bit more purple, but ok…
I poured this preparation over the base that I had previously made, and then i took it to the fridge to solidify.
As it solidified, I realized that something was going on … the edges of the tart were getting another color … yes … another color. They were getting BLUE! Literally blue! At first I was going to die and I thought “Epic fail !!”
But then when I removed the tart from the pan and saw all the splendor of it, I said, “Gorgeous!” A perfect combination between blue and pink, a soft gradient, a natural gradation that made a simple pomegranate dessert into something worthy of a magazine cover! 🙂
Of course I went to research why this had happened, and the answer is simpler than it seems. The pomegranate juice color change is caused by anthocyanins, which are nothing more than the pigments responsible for the red-orange, bright red, purple and even blue colors found in the most varied fruits, vegetables and even leaves. They are part of the family of the well known antioxidants.
The interesting about anthocyanins is that they can be used as pH indicators as they change color depending on the pH of the surrounding liquid. (who remembers the experience with the red cabbage at school?) And that’s exactly what happened!
The red color of anthocyanins is only stable when the PH is acidic, so, if we do not give it the ideal conditions it will change color, and in this case changed to blue and only on the edges of the tart. I didn´t find why it happened only on this area, but probably was because it was more in contact with the air and the metal of the pan itself. Long story short it resulted into something very fancy! The mom pride!
Let’s move on to the recipe cause no one has the patience to put up with me anymore!
CRUST
2 cups of walnuts
1 cup of medjol dates (+/- 12 units)
2 tbsp of raw cacao powder1 tbsp of maca powder
3/4 tsp of salt
CREAM
2 cups of pomegranate juice
2 cups of unsweetened sow milk
4 tsp of agar-agar
CRUST
2 cups of walnuts
1 cup of medjol dates (+/- 12 units)
2 tbsp of raw cacao powder1 tbsp of maca powder
3/4 tsp of salt
CREAM
2 cups of pomegranate juice
2 cups of unsweetened sow milk
4 tsp of agar-agar
1- Start by placing all the ingredients of the base in a food processor and grind until they form a homogeneous and moldable mixture.
2- Then put this mixture into a baking pan with removable bottom and press well with your hands, until the entire base is covered by the mixture. Take it to the fridge.
3- In a saucepan over medium heat, put the vegetable drink, pomegranate juice and agar. Let it begin to boil and stir with a wire whisk to help dissolve and incorporate the agar. Remove from the heat as soon as the mixture has boiled for about 10 minutes. It is normal to remain quite liquid.
4- Pour the liquid into the baking pan over the base you already made and put on the fridge for at least 4 hours, but the ideal is made this dessert the day before, so that it cools and set perfectly.
5- Unmold and serve with dark chocolate shavings and pomegranate arils on top.
6- Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days.
1- Start by placing all the ingredients of the base in a food processor and grind until they form a homogeneous and moldable mixture.
2- Then put this mixture into a baking pan with removable bottom and press well with your hands, until the entire base is covered by the mixture. Take it to the fridge.
3- In a saucepan over medium heat, put the vegetable drink, pomegranate juice and agar. Let it begin to boil and stir with a wire whisk to help dissolve and incorporate the agar. Remove from the heat as soon as the mixture has boiled for about 10 minutes. It is normal to remain quite liquid.
4- Pour the liquid into the baking pan over the base you already made and put on the fridge for at least 4 hours, but the ideal is made this dessert the day before, so that it cools and set perfectly.
5- Unmold and serve with dark chocolate shavings and pomegranate arils on top.
6- Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days.
* I made my own pomegranate juice, because it ́s quite simple to do and i had lots of pomegranates to use, but you can buy pomegranate juice and use it instead.
* I made my own pomegranate juice, because it ́s quite simple to do and i had lots of pomegranates to use, but you can buy pomegranate juice and use it instead.
Tag @things_about_a_vegan_girl on instagram and hashtag it #thingsaboutavegangirl so we can see all the masterpiece you made!!!
Tag @things_about_a_vegan_girl on instagram and hashtag it #thingsaboutavegangirl so we can see all the masterpiece you made!!!