Pomegranate Rose Stout Yogurt Sauce
Turkish cuisine is full of bold flavors. This Pomegranate Rose Stout Yogurt Sauce blends a fruity, tart pomegranate reduction with floral rose water, roasty Stout, sour sumac, and tangy yogurt creating a great juxtaposition when paired with grilled Turkish Lamb Köfte with Stout and | or Chicken & Turkey Köfte with IPA.
As this sauce is made up of mostly yogurt, using a high-quality cultured dairy product is critical. I love the taste and texture of Straus Family Creamery. Their Greek style, plain, whole milk yogurt creates a wonderful canvas for other flavors to dance off. The use of more beneficial bacteria and cultures in this style of yogurt add in probiotic health as well.
Pomegranate Molasses is reduced down pomegranate juice, usually mixed with orange and | or lemon juice. The result is a syrupy liquid, that has similar qualities to balsamic vinegar; tart, slightly sour, rich in flavor, and fruity undertones.
Depending on how you chose to serve this sauce, the type of stout used will change the final flavor. If you use an Irish Dry Stout, Russian Imperial Stout, Coffee or other infused Stout, to an extra milky, full of un-fermented lactose Milk Stout | Sweet Stout (which could add extra richness to the yogurt). To add extra elements when choosing the beer to cook with, outside of the stout beer style, each brewery adds their own take on the type of stout. New flavor combinations are seemingly available. Your ultimate stout beer selection will change the final flavors of your Pomegranate Rose Stout Yogurt Sauce. This is one of the adventurous decisions a Beer Chef is faced with, when cooking with stout beer and what beer pairing experience you want to create.
Rosewater and sumac add another Middle Eastern twist to the flavor of this yogurt sauce. Floral notes from the intense rose-infused water mix with the citrus, earthy, and pungent sumac. All these flavors combine to create a Middle Eastern Beer Cuisine sauce, perfect for köfte, Middle Eastern Falafel, Homemade Pita Beer Bread, Mediterranean Stuffed Leg of Lamb, or grilled vegetables seasoned with Homemade Za’atar. Try adding my Tangerine IPA Yogurt Sauce along with a garlicky toum sauce to create a saucy experience for your family | guests!
Makes: about 1/2 cup of sauce
Adapted from BeerAdvocate Magazine: Cuisine à la Bière | Mar 2015 | Issue #98
- 1/2 cup yogurt, Greek style, plain, whole milk preferably organic, such as Straus Family Creamery
- 2 tablespoon pomegranate molasses, such as Pomegranate Molasses by Al Wadi
- 1 tablespoon beer, Stout, such as American Stout, Oatmeal Stout or Russian Imperial Stout
- 1 tablespoon oil, olive, extra virgin,
- 2 teaspoon sumac, ground or 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon rose water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, kosher
- In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, pomegranate molasses, Stout, olive oil, sumac, rose water and salt. This sauce will be pretty thick.
- Transfer to a jar, seal and let infuse for an hour before using. It will keep for a week refrigerated. try serving this sauce along side Toum and Tangerine IPA Yogurt Sauce, to go with Turkish Lamb Köfte with Stout