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Authors: Louisa Shafia
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bottom of the pomegranate. Repeat at each seam, then gently break apart the sections. Peel off any membrane still clinging to the fruit, and break the sections in half or leave them intact. They will be roughly triangular in shape. Serve like orange sections. (See photo sequence below and at left.)
Juice Method
Firmly roll an unpeeled pomegranate around on a cutting board, feeling the seeds break inside the skin. When you’ve rolled the entire fruit and it feels soft all over, put it in the sink and cut a small circle out of the skin. Bring the fruit to your mouth and suck out the juice.
Spoon Method
Hold the pomegranate on its side on a cutting board, with the crown and stem ends facing north and south. Slice the pomegranate in half vertically. Turn the halves cut side up and make four or five shallow incisions, about 1 inch in length, around the cut edge of the fruit. Loosely hold a pomegranate half from the bottom, cut side down, so that your palm is touching the seeds. Over a large, deep bowl, bang the skin firmly with the back of a heavy spoon to knock out the seeds. Repeat with the remaining half.
Water Method
Fill a large bowl halfway with cold water. Slice off the crown and stem ends of the pomegranate. Stand the pomegranate on one of the flat ends, and divide the fruit into quarters by slicing four shallow incisions in the skin from the top to the bottom. Break the fruit into quarters. Submerge the fruit in the water and pull out the seeds. The seeds will sink, while the pith and skin float to the top. As soon as you’ve seeded all four quarters, skim the waste off the top, and pour the seeds into a sieve.
vinegar carrots with toastedsesame seeds
This pungent salad is great as a sandwich fixing on the Sweet and Smoky Beet Burgers , or tucked into flatbread with the Potato Cakes with Tamarind Sauce . Use a carrot peeler to peel the carrots into long, graceful ribbons or a mandoline slicer to cut them into matchsticks. To peel the carrots easily, lay them on a cutting board, hold onto the stem end, and rotate as you peel away each section. Marinate the salad for a few hours before serving to let the nutty toasted sesame oil infuse the carrots.
serves 4
½ cup sesame seeds (white or black)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Sea salt
1½ pounds carrots, cut lenthwise into thin ribbons
1 cup tightly packed fresh cilantro
Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the sesame seeds and alternate between shaking the pan and stirring the seeds. When the seeds start to pop, after a couple of minutes, transfer them to a plate and let cool to room temperature.
In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, vinegars, honey, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, sesame seeds, and 1 teaspoon salt. Pour the dressing over the carrots, add the cilantro, and toss well. Season to taste with salt and serve.
cucumber and watermelon salad
Sweet, thirst-quenching watermelon is one of Iran’s most bountiful and well-loved fruits. On scalding summer days, its juice is a refreshing balm in both the dusty desert and in Tehran’s smoggy city streets, where watermelons are sold whole or by the slice. Even the seeds are roasted and eaten as a snack. At the observance of Shab-e Yalda on December 21, the longest night of the year, it’s customary to share a watermelon with friends and family, in the anticipation of an auspicious new year. You can assemble this crisp, juicy salad ahead of time, and add the salt and vinegar just before serving.
serves 4
1 pound unwaxed cucumbers, sliced in half lengthwise
3 cups diced seedless watermelon
1 scallion, green part only, thinly sliced
¾ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Seed the cucumbers and cut them into half-moons ½ inch thick. In a bowl, combine the cucumbers with the watermelon and scallion. Add the salt and vinegar, mix
Juice Method
Firmly roll an unpeeled pomegranate around on a cutting board, feeling the seeds break inside the skin. When you’ve rolled the entire fruit and it feels soft all over, put it in the sink and cut a small circle out of the skin. Bring the fruit to your mouth and suck out the juice.
Spoon Method
Hold the pomegranate on its side on a cutting board, with the crown and stem ends facing north and south. Slice the pomegranate in half vertically. Turn the halves cut side up and make four or five shallow incisions, about 1 inch in length, around the cut edge of the fruit. Loosely hold a pomegranate half from the bottom, cut side down, so that your palm is touching the seeds. Over a large, deep bowl, bang the skin firmly with the back of a heavy spoon to knock out the seeds. Repeat with the remaining half.
Water Method
Fill a large bowl halfway with cold water. Slice off the crown and stem ends of the pomegranate. Stand the pomegranate on one of the flat ends, and divide the fruit into quarters by slicing four shallow incisions in the skin from the top to the bottom. Break the fruit into quarters. Submerge the fruit in the water and pull out the seeds. The seeds will sink, while the pith and skin float to the top. As soon as you’ve seeded all four quarters, skim the waste off the top, and pour the seeds into a sieve.
vinegar carrots with toastedsesame seeds
This pungent salad is great as a sandwich fixing on the Sweet and Smoky Beet Burgers , or tucked into flatbread with the Potato Cakes with Tamarind Sauce . Use a carrot peeler to peel the carrots into long, graceful ribbons or a mandoline slicer to cut them into matchsticks. To peel the carrots easily, lay them on a cutting board, hold onto the stem end, and rotate as you peel away each section. Marinate the salad for a few hours before serving to let the nutty toasted sesame oil infuse the carrots.
serves 4
½ cup sesame seeds (white or black)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Sea salt
1½ pounds carrots, cut lenthwise into thin ribbons
1 cup tightly packed fresh cilantro
Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the sesame seeds and alternate between shaking the pan and stirring the seeds. When the seeds start to pop, after a couple of minutes, transfer them to a plate and let cool to room temperature.
In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, vinegars, honey, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, sesame seeds, and 1 teaspoon salt. Pour the dressing over the carrots, add the cilantro, and toss well. Season to taste with salt and serve.
cucumber and watermelon salad
Sweet, thirst-quenching watermelon is one of Iran’s most bountiful and well-loved fruits. On scalding summer days, its juice is a refreshing balm in both the dusty desert and in Tehran’s smoggy city streets, where watermelons are sold whole or by the slice. Even the seeds are roasted and eaten as a snack. At the observance of Shab-e Yalda on December 21, the longest night of the year, it’s customary to share a watermelon with friends and family, in the anticipation of an auspicious new year. You can assemble this crisp, juicy salad ahead of time, and add the salt and vinegar just before serving.
serves 4
1 pound unwaxed cucumbers, sliced in half lengthwise
3 cups diced seedless watermelon
1 scallion, green part only, thinly sliced
¾ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Seed the cucumbers and cut them into half-moons ½ inch thick. In a bowl, combine the cucumbers with the watermelon and scallion. Add the salt and vinegar, mix
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