myMEGusta

Pomegranates: A Seedy Topic

What do the Blue Mosque in Istanbul and Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona have in common?

A connection to the pomegranate, albeit in very different ways.

For those who have not been there (or have not been there “yet”, as myMEGusta likes to say), the Sagrada Familia Cathedral is the masterpiece of Modernist architect Antoni Gaudi, a genius whose concepts were based on nature, incorporating motifs such as fruits and avoiding straight lines. Started in 1882 (Gaudi took over the design work in 1883), the cathedral is incomplete, still in construction with no end in sight.

The north facing façade of the cathedral symbolizes the sad darkness of winter, and it contains motifs of the Passion.  Look up to see fruit topped spires, piles of winter fruits such as pomegranates.

Switch to Istanbul’s Blue Mosque, another iconic religious structure. No, there are no pomegranates in the design, but there is a delightful fresh pomegranate juice stand as you approach. Freshly pressed, this is the tastiest pomegranate juice you will ever have.

Pomegranate juice became a mainstream beverage in the US about 30 years ago, and there are also pomegranate liqueurs (which myMEGusta has not sampled).

Aside from sipping on the juice, just plain, there lots of things to do with it: Add to with sparkling wine to make a kir-like cocktail, or make a pomegranate martini with vodka and a little triple sec.

For a real treat, make the trek to La Palapa, a fabulous Mexican restaurant in New York City’s East Village (www.lapalapa.com) and have one of their pomegranate margaritas!

You can also make a pomegranate sorbet or ice cream from the bottled juice.

The fruit itself is a cluster of juicy seeds encased in a red rind.  Once peeled, It can be enjoyed as is, or livening  up a salad. Just don’t bite too hard, and be cautious if you should not be swallowing whole seeds

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