, Step by step

Greek yogurt with pomegranate and blood orange

After the indulgence of the holiday season, this simple, refreshing, and light dessert is perfect for January.

Mark Stower, Director of Food and Service.

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: n/a

Serves: 8

Method

  • Step 1

    First, segment the oranges over a bowl to catch the juices. Put the segments in a separate bowl.

  • Step 2

    Add the pomegranate seeds, honey, pumpkin seeds and fine strips of mint to the segments and mix.

  • Step 3

    Place equal amounts of the Greek yoghurt into 8 bowls and spoon the orange segment mix into the middle. Drizzle some of the orange juice over this. To add extra interest, you can zest the skin of the oranges first, then candy them in sugar syrup and serve on top of the orange segment mix.

  • Step 4

    To add extra interest, you can zest the skin of the oranges first, then candy them in sugar syrup and serve on top of the orange segment mix.

Nutrition

Blood oranges take their name from the dark red colour of their skin and flesh—when cut open they may be completely red, but quite often they are streaked red or pink.

Although apparently originating in China, they are now the main type of orange grown in Italy—especially in Sicily—and they are only in season between January and March.

The red colouring in these fruits comes from anthocyanins, which make them richer in antioxidants than other oranges and also give blood oranges a unique raspberry-like flavour. These pigments only develop when temperatures fall at night, as occurs in the Mediterranean winters.

Pomegranates originate from the Middle East, and their name derives from the Latin words for seeded apple: pomum granatum. They have been eaten as a fruit for thousands of years, with references to them appearing in both the Bible and the Koran. They were also used as a source of traditional medicines in India and elsewhere.

The juicy pomegranate seeds are called arils and are rich in vitamins C and E and in carotenes, which we convert into vitamin A.

DR JULIET GRAY, COMPANY NUTRITIONIST