Soak your chickpeas overnight, head to the kitchen in a sleep-deprived daze and wake up to the scent of sautéed onion, garlic, cinnamon and cardamom. A breakfast staple in Lebanon, lamb fatteh is sweetened with pomegranate molasses and topped with pine nuts, herbs and garlicky tahini-spiked yoghurt. Via Feast
Simple, dense and thrillingly moist, this chocolate cake recipe comes from chef and host of The Spice Trip, Stevie Parle. The additions of salt, chilli and tequila may sound a little unconventional, but trust us; this baby will blow your mind.
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Chickpeas can be a little underwhelming in their raw state, but when seasoned, spiced with baharat and roasted until crunchy, the humble legume turns into some kind of wonderful. Serve warm in our Middle Eastern chickpea and pumpkin salad with feta.
You’ll feel as if you’ve been whisked away to a Persian palace with every bite of this recipe from Feast. Basted with ghee and roasted to perfection, the sweet and sour spatchcocks are stuffed with barberries, sour cherries, saffron and pomegranate.
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Cauliflower is tired of being underestimated. The versatile vege is more than a cheesy partner; you can mash it, pickle it, pop it into pasta or turn it into gluten-free pizza dough. Here, we’ve roasted the heads in a blisteringly hot oven and mixed with a Moroccan spiced salad of buckwheat, mint and pistachios.
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The Middle East’s answer to dumplings, these deep-fried kibbeh are encased in burghul (cracked wheat) dough. Fill yours with beef or lamb mince, parsley, spices and pomegranate seeds.
Matthew Evans gets his eggplant smokin’ by scorching the skin on a gas burner, before finishing the job in the oven. Here, he turns the roasted result into baba ghanoush, pairing it with grilled haloumi, pine nuts, fresh herbs and a sweet pomegranate dressing. Via Feast magazine
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Featuring tomatoes, peppers, parsley and a swill of pomegranate molasses, Turkish-style tomato salsa, known as ezme, is one of the nation’s favourite dishes. We served the salad with lamb kebabs to match our meaty mood. Go for haloumi and flatbread if you swing on the vegetarian side.
Step aside quinoa, freekeh’s here to steal the superfood crown. In this recipe from Harvest, the wholegrain makes friends with similarly salubrious ingredients, including eggplant, capsicum, almonds and pomegranate. Dressed with cinnamon and orange juice, it’s a health nut’s edible dream.
Duck fat does wonders in this slow-roasted recipe from chef Somer Sivrioglu. Sauced with port, pomegranate and sour plums, and served on a bed of greens, this duck dish is a little bit naughty and a whole lot of nice.
11. Interesting and adventurous?
Smash those preconceived notions of what a salad should be. In this creative and colourful piece, Hassan M’Souli mixes toasted hazelnuts with ruby grapefruits, green olives, avocado and snow pea sprouts.
Called arroz doce in Portugal and riz au lait in France, rice pudding is loved the whole world over. This Middle Eastern version from Feast Magazine laces the comforting dessert with cinnamon, rosewater and pomegranate syrup.
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The chefs at Melbourne restaurant Mamasita have made over Mexican classic chiles en nogada (chillies in walnut sauce) with the addition of pork fillets and tequila-soaked raisins. Combine spices and dried mulato chillies with cumin and coriander seeds to give your pork a good rubbing.
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Want 37 more reasons to pursue pomegranate? Check out our recipe collection here.
SBS Food is a 24/7 foodie channel for all Australians, with a focus on simple, authentic and everyday food inspiration from cultures everywhere. NSW stream only. Read more about SBS Food
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