Pomegranate seeds are wonderful little things. Sure, they don’t leave the cosy skin of a pomegranate easily and make a frightful mess upon doing so. They can be tricky to find too though I always find them in Fallon & Byrne, where I pay a hefty price for them.
But they are totes worth it. Add them to a plate of cauliflower roasted in spices and you’ve got a pomegranate party. Throw them in the blandest of couscous combos and you’ve got a bejewelled side dish with a satisfying little crunch. They’re really quite something.
I saw the carrot/goat’s cheese/pomegranate combination in a recipe that I’ve since lost the link for and figured it would make for a great couscous. Turns out it’s a great side dish but also stands on its own as a meal in itself. Not least because of those little pods of pomegranate loveliness.
What you need for Roast Carrot and Pomegranate Couscous for 4
3 to 4 large carrots
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
1 tablespoon of cumin Seeds
300g couscous
300ml vegetable or chicken stock
1 orange
1 pomegranate
50g crumbly goat’s cheese
1 handful of fresh mint leaves
Heat your oven to 200C/180C/Gas Mark 6. Peel your carrots and chop them in half and then into quarters. Put them in a roasting dish and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt, pepper and cumin seeds and mix well. Roast for 50 minutes until they are tender and starting to brown around the ages. Or you can *ahem* go for a walk in the park with your dog and completely forget about them so that they *ahem* caramelise, like mine 
Meanwhile, you can battle with your pomegranate to get the little seeds out (wear an apron!) and set them aside.
When your carrots are done, put your couscous into a large bowl. Pour in the hot stock so that the couscous is just about covered. Mix it with a fork and then leave it for 10 minutes until the stock has been absorbed, giving it a mix with the fork a few times.
Squeeze the juice of the orange into the couscous and give it a taste. Add salt and pepper if you like but that will depend on how salty your stock is.
Add your carrots to the couscous, crumble in the goat’s cheese and add the pomegranate seeds. Now finely chop your fresh mint and add that too, mixing everything together until you have a fantastically colourful dinner. Enjoy!
September 6, 2012 at 8:35 pm
Ooooh that looks delicious Aoife! I also made a bulgar wheat salad very similar to that only last night:) btw i LOVE pomegranates too!!
September 7, 2012 at 5:19 pm
Aren’t they lovely? Will be using them again asap!
September 7, 2012 at 6:09 am
Ah the eternal problem of where to get our pomegranate fix from. Fallon & Byrne, while lovely, is massively overpriced in general in my humble opinion. As well as often having the elusive whole pommies in my local (ish) Tesco, you can often get little packets of the seeds that have already been liberated – I wonder do you know if they freeze well at all?
Also I found a good method of getting them out where you fiddle with one cut into halves or quarters in a large bowl of water – the seeds float to the top and the mess is contained nicely – have a google why doncha?
Lovely recipe as always – I like my carrots at the dog waking stage of roasted-ness also
September 7, 2012 at 5:20 pm
What I find odd about Fallon & Byrne is some things, or perhaps most, are overpriced and then you can find some really great bargains in there as well. Like some of the cheese and deli count stuff is very reasonable.
I’m pretty sure you can find pomegranates in Asian Food Co on Mary Street – must check their prices next time I’m in!
Thanks for the comment
September 7, 2012 at 11:11 pm
They’re just coming into season now and Lidl have them for something like 70 cent each and Dunnes have them for 2 for €2. Best way to deseed is to cut them in half and then hold them cut side down over a bowl and bang them (not too hard) with a wooden spoon, the seeds just fall out.
September 18, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Good tips, sir!
September 24, 2012 at 10:50 pm
Actually, I take back the advice about Lidl: got one from there last week and it was horrible, there was no sweetness to the seeds at all.
September 24, 2012 at 10:51 pm
Sorry that was meant to say Dunnes not Lidl!
September 7, 2012 at 8:36 am
I’d never eaten a pomegranate until well into my twenties. After discovering them, I was hooked!. My favourite way of eating them is to get all the seeds out first into a bowl and then eat them with a spoon (all that effort seems to make eating it even more of a treat).
What a tasty way to use it in a couscous – I’m looking forward to trying this recipe already!
All the best
Elaine
September 7, 2012 at 5:21 pm
Wow! I’m totally going to try eating a whole bowl of pomegranates. Such indulgence!
Thanks Elaine
September 7, 2012 at 1:48 pm
Oooohh I love pomegranates! Love this
We came across wild ones on our hols in Croatia, but they weren’t ripe enough to eat. I could have brought you back some for a good price!
September 7, 2012 at 5:21 pm
Wow! Wild pomegranates! Now I really want to visit Croatia
September 7, 2012 at 7:58 pm
This looks fabulous, but between getting out the pomegranate seeds and roasting the carrots, a lot of work. I tell you what: if you make it I will pay you a fiver to feed it to me on a gilded platter. Thoughts?
September 18, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Sounds like a plan
September 8, 2012 at 1:40 pm
Hi Aoife,
Just a quick hello to say your new blog is lovely and your photos get better and better. Well done! Ps. recipe looks deadly too x
September 18, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Thanks so much Sarah, really appreciate it
October 4, 2012 at 7:01 pm
Hi Aoife. Tried this this evening to accompany a Lebanese meat recipe. It worked a treat. Thank you. The easiest way to get seeds out of a pomegranate (I learned today from YouTube) is to cut it in half and ease the seeds out in a big bowl of cold water. The seeds drop to the bottom and the membrane floats. There’s a little bit of picking through at the end but not much. Thanks again for this recipe. It’s definitely one I’ll use again. Btw, I got my pomegranate in Tesco. They’re in season at the moment so they seem to be all over the place. DM