Cooking when there isn't much in season

that is, now

Kitchen inspiration can come in all sorts of ways, and all sorts of waves. For most of the year, mine comes from the fruits, vegetables, herbs and more that are at their best in any given month. The spears of asparagus standing to attention like soldiers in May; the glut of courgettes that graces the shops in July; the golden ears of corn that signal it’s back to school (figuratively or otherwise); the knobbly squashes that signal it’s time to pull out my warmest jumpers; the spritz of citrus come Christmas.

This seasonal produce is what pulls me into the kitchen and pushes my cooking in various directions.

However, at this time of year when winter crops are depleted and the arrival of the new season’s crops is a way off, produce is thin on the ground. It no longer feels like I’m rolling with the seasons and their produce, but rather standing still, impatiently and hungrily. With little to push or pull me seasonally speaking, I have to look hard (really hard) for inspiration.

Of course, the cupboards are a good place to start, and that is how this week’s recipe came about.

It was yet another damp and dark evening. I had four hungry mouths to feed, and little to no idea of what to cook (see: lack of seasonal inspiration above). After a messy few minutes of rummaging, I reached for the bottle of pomegranate molasses, hoping it would offer some tangy, fruity variation. Mixed with both warm and bright spices, it provided the base for a marinade to slather over poussins and trickle over wedges of onion.

After a hands-off stint in the oven, the birds rested. I shook a jar of chickpeas into the onions which were swimming around in poussin juices and this went back into the oven for a final blast. I made a bright, sour herb yoghurt for dolloping at the table. And like that, in less than an hour, my internal complaints of seasonal eating drudgery had been quelled, even if only temporarily, thanks to the bottle of pomegranate molasses.

Not only did this provide the variation my appetite longed for, it proved that while the bounty of spring, let alone summer, is a way off, there is inspiration to be found elsewhere. And that will have to do for now, until we’re rolling with the seasons again.

Pomegranate molasses poussins with herb & lime yoghurt

Below the recipe, I have noted a few other ways I like to use pomegranate molasses to make sure that the bottle sees the light of day as regularly as it deserves.

Another little ingredients note: you could use chicken parts (drum sticks and/or thighs) here in lieu of the poussins if you prefer.