Winter Reds Salad with Pomegranate Dressing

by Mary on December 14, 2013

salad with pomegranate, Fuyu persimmon, and pomegranate dressing

Salad with greens, winter fruits, and pomegranate dressing

Crunchy, colorful and tangy pomegranate seeds enhance all kinds of dishes, so I’ve been happily anticipating The Salad Bar‘s December challenge to make a salad with pomegranate.

A red and green salad seemed just right for this time of year. On the red side, this salad has red greens, pomegranate, and red pear, and for the green, butter lettuce and pumpkin seeds. I couldn’t resist including beautiful wine-red radicchio but it’s quite bitter, so I used the trick of soaking the leaves in ice water to mellow their taste. Fuyu persimmon slices added a bright orange punch and sweet flavor.

I almost couldn’t stop photographing this pretty salad to start eating, though my family is very good at reminding me on that front! Persimmons can be expensive. Costco has packs of them for a good price but if you don’t have a source you could use more pear or a red apple. If you haven’t bought pomegranates lately, you may be pleasantly surprised, they have become more available and cheaper the last few years.

Fit and Fed already has a pomegranate salad dressing recipe, I cut the quantity down a a little for this salad.


5.0 from 1 reviews
Winter Reds Salad with Pomegranate Dressing #The Salad Bar
 
Prep time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: salad
Cuisine: American
Serves: 3
Ingredients
For the dressing:
  • ¼ cup pomegranate arils
  • ½ Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 Tbsp. grapeseed oil
  • salt to taste
For the salad:
  • 6 oz. regular salad greens, I used a mixture of Bibb and red leaf lettuce
  • 1 oz. radicchio, pre-soaked in ice water (optional)
  • 2 Fuyu persimmons (about 11 oz) (optional, or use more pear or red apple)
  • ½ red pear
  • ½ cup pomegranate seeds
  • 2-3 Tbsp. green pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
Instructions
  1. Presoak radicchio leaves in a bowl of ice water for at least half an hour to greatly reduce their bitterness.
  2. Meanwhile, seed a large pomegranate, which will provide more than enough seeds for this recipe.
  3. Make the dressing by combining the pomegranate arils, balsamic, and grapeseed oil in a small, powerful blender or food processor. If your blender cannot efficiently blend such a small quantity you may need to make a double batch.
  4. Dry and chop radicchio into small pieces.
  5. Wash, dry, and tear salad greens.
  6. Slice Fuyu persimmons into thin rounds, quarter the rounds.
  7. Halve pear, cut half into small, thin slices.
  8. Put shredded salad greens and chopped radicchio in a large bowl, toss with dressing.
  9. Salt to taste.
  10. Serve onto dinner plates.
  11. Top with sliced persimmon, pear, pomegranates seeds, and pumpkin seeds.
  12. Serve and enjoy!

 

{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }

yummychunklet December 16, 2013 at 1:01 am

Lovely pomegranate seeds!
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mary December 16, 2013 at 7:00 am

Thank you, I agree that pomegranate seeds are so pretty, like little red jewels!

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Davida December 17, 2013 at 4:24 pm

I love that you included persimmons! Such a delicious looking salad!
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mary December 17, 2013 at 10:07 pm

Thanks, Davida! I just munched down a persimmon moments ago as a little snack, I love to have them around at this time of year.

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Joanne December 18, 2013 at 1:14 am

My favorite meal of the day is lunch when I can have a huge green salad. Love your recipe. I’ve been so into pomegranate seeds lately. I’ve been cutting a pom. and getting the fresh seeds. Delicious but a tedious ordeal getting those ariels. When I’m lazy, I buy the little cups from POM with the ariels. Those are good but you can tell the diff. between fresh and not so fresh.
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mary December 23, 2013 at 5:31 am

For some reason I’m too cheap to buy the arils already removed from the pomegranates. Doesn’t stop me from buying a lot of other things, though!

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Sabrina December 18, 2013 at 5:27 am

Mmmmm! I am not a fan of salads in the winter but this looks delicious!

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mary December 18, 2013 at 6:01 am

Thanks, Sabrina! And thanks for stopping by to check out my blog!

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Lori December 23, 2013 at 3:09 am

Another great looking salad!
Lori recently posted..LatelyMy Profile

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mary December 23, 2013 at 5:31 am

Thanks, Lori!

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