POMEGRANATES.. ONE OF OUR MOST FAVOURITE FRUITS.

I am ONLY allowed to eat them in YumYum HQ, it is because of that Scrummydumptious juice as I am not the tidiest of eaters. Oh.. they are such delicious fruits and their hard skin gives YOU no warning of tightly packed they are with heavenly jewels.

WE eat a lot of them in our house, in salads, with rice, stuffed into meat.. SHE uses them for sweet and sour foods and also in soup.

They are good for YOU, for cleansing the body of un-mentionable things, put Pomegranate into a search engine, YOU will be very surprised, they have an enxyme which is extremely powerful.

But for YOU, Dear Readers, SHE is prepared to give up an old recipe, it came to HER many, many years ago from an Iranian friend of Constance, a much beloved friend who was a glamour puss.. even when birthing sheep and riding one horse and leading two others in pouring rain.. Mona was simply divine!

Mona and Constance were GREAT cooks.. they had learnt their 'basic' skills whilst at school in Ville D'Avray in France, which is where they met, circa 1934. Two young women from different backgrounds and parts of the world who became and remained friends forever.

Mona and her husband lived, in huge style, very near to where SHE lived just before SHE left home, in a BIG house, with hot and cold running staff, HUGE kitchen garden with several greenhouses, which were overseen VERY strictly by Mona, and hot fruit houses! For Persian Apricots and other such things that she would not live without..

There is a saying that SHE has altered to fit around Mona.. YOU will recognise it.. "You can take a girl out of Persia but you can't take Persia out of the girl".

This dish was something that Mona knew SHE loved and after SHE had been exercising horses and cleaning tack, HER much beloved, very grown-up friend always gave HER this for supper.

POMEGRANATE SOUP..

2 chopped large onions. 1/2 cup of well rinsed yellow split peas

1 cup chopped spring onions (scallions). 1/4 cup chopped mint

2 cups chopped fresh coriander. 2 cups chopped fresh parsley

3/4 cup well rinsed rice. 2 cups pomegranate juice

1 tablespoon sugar. 2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons angelica powder - from Iran food shops.

1teaspoon turmeric. 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper.

6 cups of water. 2 tablespoons olive oil.

500 gms of ground - very finely minced - lamb.

Into a large, heavy bottom stockpot, sauté onions in olive oil until golden. Add split peas, water, salt, pepper & turmeric and bring to the boil. Lower heat and simmer (covered) for 30 minutes. Add parsley, coriander, mint and spring onions (scallions).

Roll lamb into small balls and place gently into stock, add rest of seasoning ingredients. Allow 45 mins to finish cooking. This was always served with rice. 

Constance is long gone to the Great Kitchen Garden in the sky. Mona is widowed and lives in Switzerland. Beloved by countless people of all ages, she travels and works for a famous charity.

Aged 96, she is as sharp as a tack and still glamourous. 

GeeGee Parrot.

April 11th, 2013.