Sunday, October 07, 2007

pomegranate molasses, smoked Maldon salt

These were my impulse buys today at the grocery store. Anyone have any (preferably vegetarian) ideas what I can do with these two things?

I'm thinking I could make a pretty awesome salad dressing with the pomegranate molasses. I know it's a Lebanese ingredient, but I'm not sure what it's used for. Marinades, I'd guess? The consistency is more like a syrup than molasses, and the flavor is really concentrated (i.e., you wouldn't want to just pour it straight onto anything, I don't think). Has anyone ever used it?

And the smoked sea salt: Since I'm cooking vegetarian most of the time, I'm always looking for creative ways to introduce a little smokiness, a little umami, to things. Maldon - both the smoked and the regular variety - is very delicate and flaky, and I first had it at a restaurant in Montreal, and I swear it made everything it touched amazing. It seemed to sharpen all the other flavors. There was even a little sprinkled on top of my chocolate pot de creme. Beautiful. (That was the regular, not the smoked -- although, am I crazy for thinking the smoked salt just might work with chocolate or caramel? Maybe?)

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