Serves: n/a
Approx cost: โฌ1.90
Approx calories (per average serving): ~70
Approx preparation time: 15 mins
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #0B0B61;”]Firstly, if you didn’t already – don’t forget to enter my little giveaway to celebrate my One Year Blogiversary! Full details on how to enter can be found in my previous post, here. Good luck! Now on with the show. Sometimes, I really feel like simple flavours. I actually served this with my Shrimp Burgers and Simple Salsa – two things which were already very rich in flavour, so I wanted something light and slightly fruity to accompany the “main event”, so to speak. Pomegranates aren’t something I eat a lot of. Indeed, the last time I actually ate them really was when I was about 12 years old! I’ve recently rediscovered these beautiful pods, stuffed with ruby red, glistening juicy seeds. What’s even better is that after my wife made a pasta salad with pomegranate inside the other day, I came to realise just how awesome these are when mixed with other foods – not just to be enjoyed on their own – so expect more pomegranates in the future!
Serve this salad as an accompaniment to a main dish which is very rich in flavour. I’d recommend substituting simple lettuce for something like lamb’s leaf lettuce or rocket – or perhaps a leaf assortment, like Mesclun. If you want to enjoy it as a main meal then you could certainly bulk it out with some Quinoa or pasta or something similar. Enjoy! ๐
Ingredients
- 1 Pomegranate
- 1 small head of lettuce of your choice
- Half a Lime
- Half an Onion
- ~2 tbsps Olive Oil
- ~2 tbsps Balsamic Vinegar
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Wash and pat dry lettuce leaves and tear away the base of the stalk or, if using other leaves, wash and shake dry. Cut the pomegranate into quarters and remove the red seeds from the pith and peel. The best way to do this is to take the two ends of each quarter and fold the skin sides back towards each other and then gently pull the seeds out. Peel, and then finely chop the onion and mix everything in a bowl. Squeeze the lime juice over the salad and mix together the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and pour over. Add a few good twists of salt and pepper and toss well before serving. Enjoy! ๐
Marianna says
This is something I could definitely use! I only need to buy fresh pepper and grate it myself, would be a shame to use a ready pepper mix hehe ))
Charles says
Yeah, it's definitely best with freshly ground stuff – much chunkier and more tasty!
fati's recipes says
Wow, the outside of your pommies are yellow not red! That's amazing!
This salad sounds so deliciously simple! ๐
Charles says
Yeah – I guess it could be that maybe they're not 100% ripe? I've seen them red – and if you leave them lying around for some time they do start to turn a more red shade, but the taste doesn't seem to be so different. I'm not a pomegranate expert, for sure, but cutting them like this seems great to me!
Kelly says
Charles, that second photo looks like a painting. The pomegranate is spectacular. My husband and I have taken to eating pomegranate in champagne (yum!) and sparkling water (most 'other' days :)). It was a tradition we started at Christmas time but we enjoyed it so much that it carried on. With something as flavourful as pomegranate, I think butter lettuce is the right choice. A little bit of onion; perfect. I dig rocket but I find that it has a tendency to take over – and I wouldn't want anything taking away from pomegranate! ๐ Gotta love a man who matches vinegar quantity with oil and tops it with citrus! Quebec style goodness.
Charles says
Thanks Kelly! Pomegranate in champagne? Mm, sounds wonderful I agree – Do you douse the pomegranate with the champagne and eat with a spoon from a bowl, or is it more a case of dropping some seeds into a glass and still drinking it like champagne?
Of course, I notice after the photo that there's a big hole in the lettuce leave – doh!
Jen says
So simple and good! ๐
Charles says
Sometimes I really crave simple, fresh stuff. It's nice to get out a load of pots and pans and really cook up a storm, but it's great to do simple things sometimes too!
Christy says
You know what, I was just munching on a pomegranate the other day, and I just loved the taste of it, and was wondering whether I could incorporate them into salad! You just proved that they are awesome for salads!:)
I love creating new salads too (actually that's as much I could do with DIY food, LOL:)
Charles says
Thanks Christy – you know I avoided them for so long because I thought that there's so little you can do with them – I'm seeing people do a lot with them recently so I think I'll be trying to use them more!
Nami | Just One Cook says
I saw pomegranate at the supermarket and debated if I should buy one for the first time. I really should have picked it up so since I have a simple salad recipe that I could try! I'm going to pick one up next time and will make this. It's no fuss and it'll be my first pomegranate in my kitchen! Thanks for sharing!
Charles says
๐ฎ You never had pomegranate before? Ohhh, you have to get one – I think you'd be able to create something so wonderful and beautiful with it, I'm sure. These days I'm pushing all the seeds into a bowl and just eating them for breakfast – so delicious!
Karen says
Hello Charles, Your photo of the ingredients is great. Pomegranates are just starting to appear in the store and I'll buy one for the first time for this salad. When we were in Italy and a salad was being prepared tableside, the waiter said to always make sure to add the salt with the acid and toss before adding the oil. He said it makes a big difference in taste.
Charles says
Thank you Karen – and thank you so much for that tip – I'm going to try it next time. Dressing tips from an Italian salad master (well, waiter!) – how fun ๐ I love hearing little tips like this ๐
Linda says
I just picked up two pomegranates yesterday and was pondering what to do with them!! And here you go…so timely for me!! I like that this is simply dressed, perfect to compliment so many things, or just by itself!!
Charles says
Thanks Linda – yeah, even with some nice cheese and a bit of toasted bread I think it would be delicious, and I always love cutting open a pomegranate. The insides are so… amazing. One of nature's little miracles!
Sissi says
Charles, you cannot imagine how I appreciate your simple and luscious recipe using pomegranate. I have never used pomegranate and most recipes I saw were either complicated, or unappealing, or called for other ingredients I didn't have… In short, yours is perfect to start adventures with the beautiful seeds. Thank you!
Charles says
Thanks so much Sissi – Pomegranate is so much fun – just cutting one open for the first time and seeing the seeds… beautiful, juicy seeds everywhere. It's just amazing. To be honest I didn't see that many pomegranate recipes before! Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places, but now I feel that I've rediscovered the fruit, I'm going to be looking around a lot more for things I can do with it! You should keep a look-out for the small bottles of pomegranate juice. They're made by a company called "POM" I think and they sell small individual bottles of juice. It's actually really good – not something I'd want every day, but so wonderful when it's ice cold!
Greg says
I don't eat a lot of pomegranates either. They're fun to play with though and this looks wonderful, light and the perfect companion for those burgers.
Charles says
Thanks Greg! Definitely fun to play with – I used spend many an hour scrabbling all the seeds to eat when I was a kid ๐
Ruth says
Oh yum! Pomegranate season is upon us – I can't wait to try this.
Charles says
Thanks Ruth! Come to think about it, I don't know the first thing about pomegranates – I should look them up now ๐
Cooking gallery says
I've never tried pomegranate, but those little red seeds indeed look gorgeous! What do they taste like? I imagine something slightly sour?
Charles says
Ah, you're missing out, you should definitely try them! The seeds are self-contained in tiny little "sacs" of juicy, fruit "stuff". When you pull out one of the little sacs you have a wonderful sweet, fragrant juice – After this you reach the seed. It's slightly crunchy, with a hint of bitterness, although not in a bad way. Usually the seeds do a good job at making sure you don't get pomegranate overload, because the juice can be a little sticky and sweet – this way it always ends with the very slightly bitter seed!
Jean | Delightful Re says
Charles, I'm so glad you rediscovered pomegranates. I love them! Your salad looks gorgeous. (I actually have a funny story from my aunt about pomegranates in a salad–I'll have to blog it someday!) I always deal with my pomegranates out on the patio to avoid stains in the kitchen. But I still get stains on my clothes!
Charles says
Thanks so much Jean – I look forward to reading your story one day ๐ They can be a pain, can't they? Just like cherries – if they're ripe, the juice goes EVERYWHERE, and they're so sticky too!
Eva says
Lovely salad Charles; we're in the land of pomegranates in Morocco, they sell them everywhere on the streets. The best way to seed a pomegranite and not get the lovely red juice all over you is to do it under water! The seeds float to the top and the pith sinks! Thanks to Martha Stewart for that little tidbit!
Charles says
Aah, I mentioned above I had no idea about pomegranates – where they come from etc, but now you mention it I remember seeing a picture on… Wikipedia I think… of street vendors in Morocco, Tunisia etc with huge carts full of the things, cutting them open showing the beautiful seeds inside. Great tip about preparing them… I'll remember it for next time, thanks a lot! Hope you're having a wonderful time ๐
Catherine says
Dear Charles, this salad look healthy and delicious. The pomegranate looks pretty mixed in there. Delightful!! Many blessings, your friend, Catherine xo
Charles says
Thanks Catherine – you know, there were SO many seeds, but when I tossed the salad they all dropped to the bottom. I had to spend quite some time fixing it up so it looked like there were at least "some" seeds in the salad, haha! ๐
Sadhana says
Charles, with two birthday parties in a row today and seeing so much greasy and carb loaded food. This salad is like a breathe of fresh air for me. The pomegranate seeds look like jewels in the delicious salad.
Charles says
Thanks Sadhana – you're so right… little rubies in the sea of green… less expensive but definitely more tasty than the stone though! ๐
kristy says
I'm absolutely fascinated by pomegranate. I have yet to eat it or make anything with it. I've had pomegranate juice and enjoy that, so this is definitely something I need to get on! I keep meaning to. They're so pretty – especially at the holidays. The color is just incredible. I like that you used them in a salad. I'm looking for salad recipes these days. Trying to prepare for the upcoming indulgence at the holidays. ๐
Charles says
Oops, just realised I never replied to you Kristy, and replying 6 months later seems rather silly so I’ll just say “thanks a lot :)”!
Pure Complex says
I love how simple and fresh your Pomegranate Salad looks. I could definitely see me enjoying this on the weekend on for lunch. Wonderful recipe
Charles says
Thanks Kay – sorry I didn’t reply until now… completely forgot about your comment ๐
Purabi Naha says
I love pomegranate and often use this for my own salads. Loved the way you used the pomegarnate seeds here…this salad is bursting with flavours!
Charles says
Thanks Purabi – no more pomegranates here until Christmas time alas though… looking forward to that ๐