Holiday Pomegranate Salad
Adapted from Emeril Lagasse's "Holiday Salad"
This salad is absolutely delicious. It truly is a holiday salad, one which I like to serve at Thanksgiving when pomegranates are in season. When pomegranates are not in season, you could leave them out but the salad won't be quite the same. One crucial ingredient is the pomegranate juice; it gives the salad its distinctive flavor. And the radicchio and Belgian endive bring interest and flavor to the bed of greens.
Emeril's original recipe included goat cheese, wrapped in proscuitto and seared in a pan. You could also cut rounds of goat cheese, roll them in finely chopped walnuts or pecans and bake at 350ºF until the cheese is just soft and warm, 5 to 7 minutes.
For the dressing:
1/3 cup pomegranate juice
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
2 shallots, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
For the salad:
1 orange, peeled and segmented
1 small sweet red onion, thinly sliced
1 small head radicchio, rinsed, patted dry and torn into bite sized pieces
1 bunch arugula or watercress, rinsed, patted dry and cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 head Bibb lettuce (butterhead), rinsed and patted dry
1 head Belgian endive, stem removed and cut crosswise into thin shreds
Pomegranate seeds, as garnish
In a small bowl, combine the pomegranate juice and orange zest, vinegar, shallots, salt, pepper and mustard and whisk thoroughly to combine. Add the oil in a steady stream and whisk until emulsified.
Marinade the oranges and onions by folding the segmented oranges and sliced onions into 1/4 cup of the dressing. Toss to combine and set aside.
When ready to serve, combine the greens in a large salad bowl. Add the marinated orange sections and onion slices, and top with a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds. Serve the dressing on the side.
Note: This salad is also lovely served on individual salad plates.
6 servings
