Pomegranate & Almond Salad
Pomegranates may look like odd, misshapen grapefruits, but inside they contain dozens of crunchy, jewel-like seeds. The seeds are sweet and edible and can be used in everything from salads to poultry garnishes to desserts. The only hard part is freeing the seeds from the bitter pith. Here’s the easiest seed-removal method I’ve come across:
1. Cut pomegranate in half. Be sure to do this on a non-stainable surface, like glass or hard plastic. (The juice would stain a wooden cutting board.)
2. Fill a medium-sized bowl with cold water and submerge the pomegranate half.
3. Gently tear back with your fingers, pulling the skin away and pushing out the seeds. The heavy seeds will fall to the bottom of the bowl while the lighter pith will float. You may need to riffle through the seeds to make sure that the pith has completely been removed–sometimes it clings.
4. Skim off the pith and drain the seeds.
Pomegranate & Almond Salad with Raspberry Dressing
Mix baby greens, pomegranate seeds, and nuts together in a bowl. Add orange segments for extra sweetness if desired. Drizzle with the dressing:
1/2 cup fresh or frozen (and thawed) raspberries
3 T. lime juice
2 T. red wine vinegar
1 T. agave nectar or honey
salt to taste (coarse sea salt preferred)
Whirl ingredients in a blender until the dressing is smooth and thick.
Note for the mythology lovers: when Persephone–the daughter of Demeter, the Greek goddess of the harvest–was kidnapped by Hades (god of the underworld) and forced to live in his dark realm, he repeatedly offered her sumptuous feasts. She refused, knowing that to accept his hospitality would bind her to his realm. Finally, however, she was became so hungry that she ate six pomegranate seeds. When Demeter rescued her daughter–after having scorned the earth in her grief, thus causing winter to descend and the crops to fail–Persephone had to promise to spend six months in Hades’ underworld, one month for each pomegranate seed she had eaten. And that’s why we have winter! Spring comes when Demeter is reunited with her daughter every year–she’s so overcome with joy that the earth explodes with her bounty.
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Tags: almond, pomegranate, raspberry, salad, winter fruit
