Pomegranates are back in season. Yaaay!

Four months ago a brief but violent storm caused havoc at our place. For a few minutes the neighbourhood was a mass of flying vegetation. A large tree branch came through a window and another falling tree crushed the roof of our newish shed. The insurance claim was approved but we're still waiting for the shed to be repaired. Until that happens, I've been trying to minimise the amount of food in our fridge and freezer, as apparently the builders will need to switch off the electricity for several days, and we and the contents of our freezer will need to go elsewhere. As someone who really likes having a freezer full of curries, dals, soups and casseroles, I've found this quite challenging. Anyway, Andrew pointed out that maybe I've accidentally jinxed the building work by using up all the food in the freezer. Maybe, if I start filling it up again, the work will actually get done …? So tonight I'm making a pumpkin, eggplant and zucchini rendang, and sometime soon I'll make a pumpkin and pomegranate stew. All these things are currently in season and in stock locally. Autumn vegetables are amazing.

Pomegranates are delicious! Messy to eat but worth the effort. I avoid buying them for most of the year as they're often imported and I want to avoid the food miles, so it's always exciting when locally grown ones appear in the shops. I planted a pomegranate tree a couple of years ago; while it seems quite healthy, it has yet to bear fruit. Ah well.

Here's my recipe for the vegetarian Persian stew fesenjān (or fesenjoon). I cobbled this recipe together from several available on the web. The main alteration made (again because I prefer to use local rather than imported ingredients where possible) was to use pecans instead of the traditional walnuts.

1 large onion, chopped
olive oil
0.5 teaspoon turmeric
0.5 teaspoon cinnamon
half a pumpkin, cubed
one large eggplant, cubed
2 cups vegetable stock
0.5 cup pomegranate molasses (try Middle Eastern grocery shops or delis)
1 cup pecan nuts, roasted and roughly chopped
seeds from a fresh pomegranate
fresh parsley, chopped

Heat the oil in a large pot and add the onion. Cook until translucent, then add the spices and cook a little longer. Add the pumpkin and eggplant chunks and stir till they're coated in the spices. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and add the pomegranate molasses and pecans. Simmer for about twenty minutes. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and parsley to serve. This recipe makes about six or seven portions. Freeze leftovers for another day.