pomegranate molasses

Pomegranate Rosemary Chicken

Ingredients:

1 cup pomegranate molasses
(Recipe for pomegranate molasses if you want to prepare your own:
1 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (~1/2 small lemon))

olive oil
1 bulb of garlic, roasted
3 sprigs of rosemary
(optional: 3 leeks (medium), sliced thin and sauteed)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Rub the garlic bulb with olive oil and put on oven rack (I use toaster oven so that I can preheat regular oven) to roast at 400 deg for 25-30 minutes. Prepare molasses below while roasting. When cloves are soft, remove from oven and allow it to cool.

To make the pomegranate molasses (you can buy online), place the pomegranate juice, sugar and lemon juice in a 4-quart saucepan set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has completely dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the mixture has reduced to 1 cup, approximately 70 minutes. It should be the consistency of thick syrup. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool. (You can allow it to cool completely before putting in glass jar and storing in the refrigerator for up to 6 months).

Saute chopped leeks in 1 T. olive oil. Set aside.

When garlic is cool enough to handle, remove each clove and using a knife, squeeze the soft garlic of 4 cloves onto the cleaned chicken and rub it on skin. Squeeze remaining garlic into pomegranate molasses.

Place chicken breast side down in roasting pan, salt and pepper to taste. Pour pomegranate molasses over chicken, and sprinkle rosemary leaves over top and into pan. (If adding leeks, you can place chicken on bed of leeks)

Place pan in oven and roast uncovered for 15 min at 375, then cover and reduce heat to 300 degrees. Roast for 2 hours, basting occasionally.