Rosh Hashanah recipe for pomegranate-nut Salad

Many of us are rushing around today, crossing things off lists though simultaneously putting new ones on, trying to get ready for Rosh Hashanah. It’s a big food holiday – bigger than most, even – and most of us will have family recipes and traditional fare serving as the staples for dinner tonight. Far be it from us to try to compete with your grandmother’s honey cake. We did, however, want to contribute something to the collective holiday table.

Salad!

It’s easy. It’s seasonal. It’s a great counterpoint to the much heavier dishes on the table. It even has honey. It’s the perfect addition to your Rosh Hashanah dinner.

Pomegranate and Nut Salad

• 3-4 heads lettuce, whatever mix you like, leaves well-washed and dried
• 1 large pomegranate
• 3/4 cup walnuts or pecan halves

Dressing:

• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1-2 tbsp organic honey
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Make the dressing. Pour olive oil, lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper into a glass jar or plastic container with a tight lid. Shake vigorously until the honey is dissolved. Taste, and adjust as necessary, adding more honey, salt, etc. to your liking.
2. Tear the lettuce leaves into bite-sized pieces, putting them directly into your bowl or serving platter. Pour dressing over, and toss gently to coat.
3. Slice the pomegranate in half, and using a spoon, scoop out the seeds directly over the salad, making sure to avoid the white pith as you go. (Any juice that runs out of the pomegranate will only add to the salad’s goodness.) Scatter nuts over top.

Serves 6 to 8

Author: Hamutal Dotan

Hamutal never planned to become obsessed with food, much less with sustainable food. It crept up on her when she wasn’t looking. At first it was pure self-defense: her parents, though well intentioned, had no idea what to do in a kitchen, and so she had to learn a bit about cooking, sheerly for the sake of her sanity. Chopping things, it turned out, was great for soothing the savage teenager. Skip ahead several years, and she’d figured out that making your own jam from local organic berries was even grander. Love of food led to love cooking, led to love of ingredients, led to love of markets, led to love of farmers, led to love of land. Hamutal is profoundly convinced that sustainability and pleasure are the best of friends, and tries to write about both of these in equal measure. She can be reached at hamutal (at) green prophet (dot) com.