Pomegranate Margaritas

Last week I found myself in Los Angeles for a bit of work, a bit of play and a healthy dose of sunshine.

I mean – summer had made it – just don’t tell the calendar!

So plans for Friday were to have a fun little cook/eat/play sess with one of my dearest girlfriends, her beau, and whomever else wanted to stop by.  So that morning before work, Peter and I ventured to the Venice Farmer’s Market for a little shopping and inspiration.  The summer weather and price on limes (8 for $1) sealed the deal – margaritas and Mexican food.  But since the day was firmly in November, regardless of what it felt like, I thought we should take a seasonal spin on our favorites.

And first up, pomegranate margaritas!

You can of course buy the seeds already shelled and have these ready in a flash, but I recommend buying the fruit whole, cracking open a beer, and seeding the lil’ guys while catching up with a friend.  It’ll do wonders for your soul!!

After that, it is just juice, blend, strain, mix and enjoy.

We had about 1½ cups of FRESH lime juice and the seeds from 2½ pomegranates (we reserved the seeds from about ½ of the third fruit for garnish), which we blended together with a hand blender (a regular blender would work great too) and then strained. The pomegranates were really ripe–sweet and just a little tart–and balanced perfectly with the lime juice, although we did add a touch of agave nectar for a teeny bit of added sweet.

Mix that sweet and tart juice with good tequila and you have an almost perfect marg. The final addition is a bit of Pellegrino (or the like) – I think all margaritas are improved with a bit of bubbly – and there you have it!

The perfect fall margarita!

And gents, don’t be scared – just because it is a bright pink drink, feel free to imbibe as well.  As long as you leave some for us.

Thanks Kar + Pete for having me – it was lovely!

And up next – the rest of the Mexican Fall Feast!!  xx

Pomegranate Margaritas

Note:  You can make a large batch of these and just add the sparkling water at the end to each glass, or you can make them one at a time.

For an idea of amounts, we had about 2 cups juice total (from the limes and pomegranates) and it made about 12 margaritas.  Also, while traditional margs have Cointreau  (or other orange liqueur), we didn’t think these needed that.

In a glass or pitcher, combine tequila, juice and agave; stir to combine.  Pour into a glass filled with ice, top with sparkling water, pomegranate seeds and garnish with a wedge of lime.

Enjoy!