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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 26 OCTOBER 2016 14 Food Add a Middle Eastern flair to your cooking Pomegranates are widely available at this time of the year. They are delicious on their own, squeezed into juice or sprinkled over salads or ice creams. One more thing you can do with them is turn them into pomegranate molasses by making a simple syrup with equal parts of sugar and pomegranate juice and allowing it to reduce to a sticky syrup. Michael Diacono makes some delicious recipes for Gourmet Today TV using this Middle Eastern staple. He makes a muhammara – a Levantine dip using roasted bell peppers and walnuts. He also makes easy pan-fried chicken thighs with am Iranian-inspired sauce. Gourmet Today TV is on TVM every Saturday at 16:05. Muhammara Pan-fried chicken thighs with an Iranian walnut sauce COMING UP THIS WEEK Halloween weekend is almost upon us and as a nation we are just starting to get into the Halloween spirit, with many families carving out pumpkins with their kids. What to do with all the leftover pumpkin? Michael Diacono has a few ideas on Gourmet Today TV. He makes a stuffed squash with minced lamb, rice and lentils and a pie stuffed with different types of pumpkin and quinoa in puff pastry. Don't miss Gourmet Today TV, on TVM this Saturday at 16:05 Ingedients • 50g walnuts • 3 red bell peppers • 1 clove garlic • 1 tsp dried chilli • ½ lemon, juice only • Salt • Parsley • 3 tbsp pomegranate molasses • Olive oil • Pita bread, to serve Method 1. Roast the walnuts in the oven for 10 mins making sure they don't burn. 2. Put a little olive oil on the peppers and roast them in the oven until the skin starts to blacken, approx. 30 mins. 3. Place the peppers – including the black skin – and the garlic a food processor with the chilli and lemon juice. 4. Season with salt and pepper and blitz. 5. Add the parsley and pomegranate molasses. 6. Add the nuts and pulse leaving a bit of a bite to the nut. 7. Place in a serving dish and top with olive oil. 8. Serve with toasted pita bread. This recipe first appeared on Gourmet Today TV, aired on TVM on 22 October, 2016. Ingedients • 5 chicken thighs • Salt and pepper • ½ lemon • Handful mint Sauce • ½ onion • 2 clove garlic • Knob butter • 1 tsp fennel seeds • 1 tsp cumin, ground • 2 tsp cinnamon • 2 tbsp sesame seeds • 1 tsp chilli flakes • 2 tbsp kunserva • 2 tbsp honey • 3 tbsp pomegranate molasses • 3 large handfuls ground walnuts • 1/3 cup pomegranate juice • Fresh mint • Pomegranate arils, to garnish Method 1. Brown the chicken in a pan with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. 2. Add the lemon juice and the mint and cook through. 3. To make the sauce, gently fry the onion and garlic in butter until soft and translucent. 4. Add the fennel seeds, cumin and cinnamon and mix well. 5. Add the sesame seeds and chilli flakes. 6. Add one clove of garlic and the kunserva and allow to fry for a few seconds. 7. Add the honey and the pomegranate molasses. 8. Add the ground walnuts and mix well. The mixture should be a little stiff. 9. Add the pomegranate juice and season with salt and pepper. 10. Had a handful of fresh mint. 11. Serve the chicken thighs with a spoonful of sauce and some pomegranate arils for garnish. This recipe first appeared on Gourmet Today TV, aired on TVM on 22 October, 2016.