I’ve thoroughly enjoyed learning about – and experimenting with – the selection of beautiful tropical fruit that I brought home from the Farmer’s Market on Tuesday. And after preparing a wonderful fruit salad and smoothie yesterday, felt that I ought to try something a bit different today. Having yet to delve into my pomegranate, I thought I should focus on that and it wasn’t long before the solution presented itself in the form of a savoury salad.
First I had to establish how to prepare the pomegranate itself, but even this proved to be relatively straight-forward in the end. There are basically four steps, and it seems to me that the most crucial element is to know when to stop using the knife. So, begin by using the point of a sharp knife to cut around and remove the blossom end of the fruit. Then use the tip to score the skin in quarters. The skin is relatively hard, but it’s surprisingly thin, which makes it important not to cut too deeply – doing so will puncture the seeds inside, sending a spray of bright red juice over everything nearby. Including you. And your clean white T-shirt. The next step is to put the knife down and, taking the pomegranate in your hands, follow the score lines to gently ease the fruit into halves and then quarters.
The final step takes a little while, but simply involves peeling the outer skin away and releasing the seeds into a bowl, discarding the soft white membrane that encases them. I was surprised that it wasn’t more tricky or awkward, and at the number of seeds contained within one fruit. There was plenty for the recipe that follows, which is a delightful combination of salty (feta), bitter (green leaves), sweet / sour (pomegranate), and tangy (mint). The overall effect is a light, clean, fresh salad with great flavour and texture.
Recipe: Green leafy salad with feta and pomegranate
Ingredients
6 large handfuls of mixed green leaves (such as arugula, watercress, spinach)
3 oz toasted pine nuts
A small bunch of mint, leaves removed and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper
10 oz feta
4 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
This will serve four as a side salad. To serve it as a main dish for lunch then simply increase the quantities to suit your needs.
Method
Put the mixed green leaves into a bowl, and add the pine nuts and mint.Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and mix together well. Pour this over the leaves, and toss everything together well. Crumble in the feta, and scatter the pomegranate seeds over.
Serve straight away.
Pomegranate tending: I put on an apron, cut the whole thing into quarters with a big knife, and then submerge it all in a big pot of water in the sink. I then gently take the inside sections apart and separate the seeds under water. When I get bored of this, I throw away the seeds that had been cut,and the pithy parts, and drain the water plus seeds in a colander, and use the seeds with their fruits! I’m usually only about 80% efficient, but that has always been enough.
I think an apron is an excellent idea!