Roast salmon lacquered with a reduced pomegranate-molasses glaze and scattered with fresh seeds, in the modern Californian way
Origin: California, United States
From the journey of Pomegranate.
When the pomegranate was reinvented in California at the turn of this century, pressed into bottled juice and sold on the strength of its antioxidant chemistry, it travelled from the health-food aisle straight onto the restaurant plate, and one of its most natural homes was the glaze. The sweet-sour, tannic depth of reduced pomegranate, whether the bottled juice boiled down or the ready-made molasses borrowed from the Levantine pantry, does for a fillet of salmon what a teriyaki or a maple glaze does, but with a brighter, fruitier acidity: brushed over the fish as it roasts, it caramelises into a glossy, mahogany lacquer that sets off the rich pink flesh. The dish belongs to the fresh, market-driven, cross-cultural cooking of the modern American West, where the Pacific salmon meets the borrowed flavours of the wider world, and it shows the pomegranate in its newest role: not the ancient fruit of myth and symbol, but a bright modern ingredient, a glaze and a garnish, scattered with its own fresh jewelled seeds. It is quick, handsome, and squarely of its moment, the five-thousand-year-old fruit of paradise at the far western edge of its long journey.
The same glaze works on lamb chops, chicken thighs, roasted aubergine, or tofu. For a sharper finish, add a squeeze of lemon to the glaze; for a deeper one, a teaspoon of soy. Serve over a grain bowl of bulgur or freekeh with herbs and more pomegranate seeds for a complete modern plate. Reducing your own pomegranate juice gives a fresher, less intense result than bottled molasses; both are excellent.
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