Necessity is the Mother of Invention. Sometimes, when it comes to creating new dishes in the kitchen, necessity and available ingredients can be two of the most influential parts of creating an original recipe. Unexpected circumstances can often push your creativity in a new direction, and voilà, something new! So it was with this healthy winter salad that I created a few short weeks ago.
A friend of mine recently came over around lunchtime, and just before she arrived I took a glance in the fridge as I wanted to make something to complement the soup I would be serving. “Surely,” I thought, optimistically, “we have plenty of salad-making ingredients.” But lo and behold, the only veggie we had was kale, and the only other produce around was a ripe pomegranate. “Well, this will have to do,” I convinced myself, and as quickly as possible, I chopped up the kale and plucked the pomegranate clean. I dressed the salad with balsamic, olive oil, salt and pepper, but still not satisfied, I scoured the fridge for something else, preferably a protein or healthy fat. Bingo! Feta cheese became the perfect fresh, healthy topping to this salad, and I quickly crumbled the Greek cheese on top.
When my friend and I tried the creation, we were in agreement: delicious! The next thing I knew, I tweaked the recipe with the addition of honey-covered walnuts, and lime juice and zest in the balsamic dressing and brought this salad to Christmas dinner, a caroling party, and a New Year’s party with equal success. There is something cheerful about rosy pomegranates, and surprising about homegrown purple kale that is sure to delight.
If you are looking for a sweet, tangy, and crunchy salad this winter, enjoy this low-prep, healthy choice full of vibrant, fibrous green and purple kale varieties, healthy pomegranates and walnuts, and soft crumbled feta! Stop on by the Farm Market today and get all the ingredients you need to treat yourself, or a friend, to an enjoyable winter salad to keep color on the table and nutrients aplenty in this frosty, winter season.
Pomegranate Kale Feta Salad
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Bake Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
- Category: – Salads, Vegetarian, Recipes
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 homegrown purple kale (or a mix of purple and green), washed and dried
- 1 pomegranate
- 4 oz Walnut Creek Crumbled Feta Cheese
- 1 cup candied walnuts (see recipe below)
- Balsamic dressing (see recipe below)
Candied Walnuts:
- 1 cup Weaver’s bulk walnuts
- 1 tbsp. local honey
- 1 tsp. sea salt
Balsamic Dressing
- Zest and juice of 1 lime
- 1 tbsp. honey
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Candied Walnuts
- First, preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Then line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread walnuts evenly over surface. Drizzle honey over nuts and sprinkle sea salt.
- Bake the walnuts for 6-10 mins or until honey starts to caramelize and nuts are slightly darker in color. Cool and store in airtight container if not using the same day.
Salad
- While the walnuts are baking, rinse and dry kale leaves, before roughly chopping and tossing into a large salad bowl.
- Next, fill a separate, small bowl with water. Slice the pomegranate in half and open the fruit while submerged underwater, picking out the pomegranate arils and letting them fall to the bottom of the bowl. The red and white peel will float, while the fruit will sink, so scoop off the bitter white flesh from the water’s surface when you have finished, and drain the water to keep the fruit. Pat arils dry. Enjoy this pomegranate process mess free!
- Scatter the pomegranate, feta and walnuts to the bowl of kale.
Dressing
- To prepare the dressing, zest and juice the lime into a pint mason jar. Add the honey, balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Screw on a lid and shake jar well before using (also the jar helps transport dressing well, just keep it upright).
- Finally, dress salad just before serving and gently toss until incorporated throughout. Enjoy this winter salad for lunch with grilled chicken breast atop, a cup of soup on the side, or all on its own!
Notes
Notes: Dressing can be made in advance as it keeps for several days on the counter or even longer when refrigerated. If being made a few hours in advance, wrap and store undressed salad in fridge for up to 6 hours or leave on the counter without the feta cheese for up to 3 hours before serving (refrigerate feta until use).
Keywords: Kale, Pomegranate, Feta, Walnut Creek, Winter, Salad