If you are looking for a dessert that is elegant, feels quite special, but is surprisingly light, you must try this one. I saw it over at Chucrute com Salsicha, hosted by Fer, the Brazilian blogger who lives in California and was my main inspiration to start the Bewitching.  Anyway, after following her blog for so many years, it is clear that when she raves about a recipe, I better get to work. She served this pomegranate gelee’ for her Christmas dinner, and I immediately decided to make it for our New Year’s Eve dessert, closing the year in a very festive mood! 😉

POMEGRANATE GELEÉ WITH SAFFRON-YOGURT CREAM
(adapted from Deborah Madison, via Culinate) 

for the gelee:
2 cups pure pomegranate juice
1 package gelatin
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp rose-water

for  the yogurt cream:
2 Tbsp milk
small pinch of saffron threads
½ cup Greek-yogurt
1 Tbsp honey

for garnish:
2 Tbs pistachio nuts, finely chopped
fresh pomegranate seeds

Pour ½ cup of the pomegranate juice into a bowl, sprinkle the gelatin on top, and let stand for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, heat half the remaining juice (¾ cup) just to the boiling point. Stir it into the gelatin, add the sugar, and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Gradually stir in the rest of the juice, then add the orange-flower water. Divide among 4 to 6 small glasses and refrigerate until set, allowing at least 6 hours or overnight.

Lightly heat the milk with the saffron threads and let cool. Stir the yogurt and honey together. Blend the saffron-milk mixture into the yogurt. Refrigerate until needed.

To serve, spoon the yogurt cream over each glass of pomegranate jelly. Garnish with the pistachio nuts and pomegranate seeds.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments:  One of the things I love the most about Fer, is that she is not afraid of improvisation in the kitchen.  If she doesn’t have an ingredient, she comes up with a substitution, and moves on, always with a happy ending!  She is also a wizard with her ice cream machine, often designing her own recipes,  all quite creative and unique. This dessert gave me opportunity to improvise too:  it originally called for orange flower water, which I did not have, and also had no idea where to get it in town.  Plus, there’s no way this Brazilian would drive around the Little Apple with snow everywhere.

I had a bottle of rose-water, acquired months ago, and decided to try it in this recipe. It seemed to me that pomegranate and rose-water could not end in litigious divorce.   To be on the safe side, I reduced the amount, using one teaspoon instead of two.  Worked like a charm!  If you don’t divulge what’s in the gelee, your guests won’t be able to detect the rose flavor, but once you know it’s there, the palate gets a subtle awareness of it, quite wonderful…

I used non-fat yogurt because again that’s what I had in the house, but go full-fat if you prefer.  This dessert had everything I enjoy: a light and refreshing feel, a luscious creamy topping, and the crunch of pistachios mixed with the slightly softer crunch of the pomegranate seeds.   Heaven, my friends, heaven!

Fer, thanks for another gem of a recipe, this one will be on our menu again and again!

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