Recipe of the week: Pom-bombe
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Sometimes, you just want to make something impressive-looking, be it for friends or a special occasion – and Sabrina Ghayour’s ‘pom-bombe’ makes a pretty spectacular centrepiece. Just imagine bringing this to the coffee table, for guests to dip crudites or crackers in!
“Let’s not blow it out of proportion, it’s not Michelin-starred, I’m not some culinary French institute, this is good, simple home cooking,” she said.
What Sabrina really wants to get across is that her flavour-packed veggie food is all pretty simple, and always quick.
Her ‘pom-bombe’ is pretty easy to whip up, although you’ll need a bit of patience to stud the cheese with the nuts and fruit.
Ingredients (Serves 4-6)
350g soft goats’ cheese (chevre with the rind cut off also works)
2tsp (heaped) sumac
15g chives, snipped or thinly sliced
Finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed orange
1-2tsp pul biber chilli flakes
200g pomegranate seeds
50g pistachio nut slivers or 75g roughly chopped whole pistachio nuts
Freshly ground black pepper
Method
1 Mix the cheese, sumac, chives, orange zest, pul biber and a generous seasoning of pepper in a mixing bowl until evenly combined. Lay a large sheet of cling film on your work surface. Using a spatula, scrape the cheese mixture out of the bowl and into the centre of the cling film. Gather the four corners of the clingfilm together, expel any air and twist the cling film just above the top of the ball to secure the cheese mixture. Use your hands to form the mixture inside the cling film into a ball.
2 Refrigerate for 30 minutes or, preferably, freeze for about 10 minutes.
3 Remove the ball from the refrigerator or freezer, discard the clingfilm and place the ball on a serving plate. Stud the surface of the ball all over with the pomegranate seeds. Scatter the pistachios on top and around the base, studding the ball with a few pieces wherever you can.
Cover with cling film and refrigerate until ready to serve.
