Pomegranate Garden Salad

Pomegranate Garden Salad

It’s Canada Day, so what better way to get some mouth fireworks happening than a spicy hot meal served on the deck, with a cooling pomegranate salad.  The brilliant red jewels remind me of the bursts of coloured jewels we’ll be admiring in the sky later on tonight, and the pop in my mouth is just as delightful.

Our garden is doling out its bounty, allowing us fresh lettuce greens, mint and cilantro for this sparkling salad.

Freshly picked mixed greens, enough to fill a salad bowl.
10 fresh garden radishes, finely sliced
¼ section finely sliced red onion
1 large tomato, diced
1/3 fresh pomegranate, seeded
3 pinches of growing top leaves of fresh mint
a few fresh cilantro leaves
1 tiny lime, juiced
1 tablespoon high quality olive oil

Carefully wash and spin dry the salad greens.  When you’re picking from the garden, you can’t be too careful.  I remember all too well my dad’s salads, filled with weeds they were, and I always questioned how carefully he’d washed the greens since he hadn’t noticed the weeds.  I’m happy to report that chickweed isn’t poisonous, after all…  I also seem to have survived the insects.  Nevertheless, I strongly caution you to clean your greens carefully!

A wonderful spot for a hot spicy meal!

Normally, we’re lucky to find fresh pomegranates in the fall, so I was mighty thrilled to see some at the supermarket today.  They’re from Chile, and I wondered if they’d be as good as the usual kind we get months from now.  Yes, they were! 

In a pretty salad bowl, add the lettuce, tomatoes, onions, radishes and pomegranate seeds.  Using scissors, finely cut the mint leaves, along with the cilantro and stems, and add to salad.  Pour the lime juice over the salad, then the oil, then toss.

We had this on the deck with fresh masala lamb chops, mushroom masala, grilled potatoes , and masala corn on the cob.  For dessert, we had a Canadian flag dessert—red and white—strawberry shortcake.  I’ll post on that tomorrow, along with pictures of the fireworks we'll view tonight. 

Happy Canada Day everyone!