apple, fennel & pomegranate salad

Apple, Fennel & Pomegranate Salad needs to be part of any bountiful festive table. Invariably pretty, the salad also boasts lots of crunch – necessary in any good salad, thanks to the apples, celery & fennel, all sliced wafter thin. Creamy goat cheese, tart & chewy dried cranberries & watercress all drizzled in apple mustard vinaigrette are added. Then the crowning glory – ruby-like pomegranate arils, sprinkled on top. Perfect!

Are you a fennel lover? Cooking enhances its licorice-like flavor but when served raw, fennel is more subdued. Make sure the slices are wispy thin. I use a mandoline for this. A food processor would suffice although produce somewhat clunkier slices. A mandoline is a must in any kitchen.   

I added two apple varieties for color & flavor. Green apple lends tartness & the red apple: sweetness & color. Just toss the slices in some lemon juice to keep them looking fresh. 

I always find the retrieval of the seeds from the white, fleshy caves in pomegranates to be rather satisfying. Don’t you? I equate it to pulling a whole piece of meat from a crab leg.

Arugula (rocket) would be a suitable stand-in for watercress. Watercress is an underutilized green. You don’t always see it in stores but it’s reportedly easy to grow so I thought I’d give it a crack. Apart from being good for you, it’s very pretty & because of this makes a welcome addition in salads. 

I first shared this beautiful salad on my now obsolete The Fresh Aussie blog. It’s so perfect for around the festive season I just had to share it again on this, my new site – Fresh Hunger. Not an everyday salad but definitely one that will make an impression for your guests. Until next time…cheers, Lovoni 

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apple, fennel & pomegranate salad

2017-12-01 01:39:24

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Ingredients

1. 1 large pomegranate
2. 1 large fennel bulb
3. 1 large green apple
4. 1 large red apple
5. 4 celery stalks, thinly sliced
6. 1/2 cup dried cranberries
7. 4 oz (113g) soft, creamy goat cheese (or feta cheese), crumbled
8. 2 cups watercress sprigs
9. fennel tops & celery leaves to garnish, optional
10. APPLE MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE
11. 1/3 cup olive oil
12. 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
13. 2 tablespoons honey
14. 2 teaspoons grainy (seed) mustard
15. 1 garlic clove, minced

Instructions

1. To make the apple mustard vinaigrette: Place all ingredients in a jar with a screw-top lid. Shake well to combine.
2. To remove seeds from pomegranate: Cut pomegranate in quarters, push the skin side like you would a mango that you’d segmented, this allows the seeds to release. Use your fingers to get in and remove the seeds, peeling back any white flesh. Let the seeds fall into a small bowl. You’ll get about 1 cup of seeds from a large pomegranate. Set seeds aside in fridge.
3. Trim base of fennel & the tops. Slice fennel thinly – I use a mandoline to get the slices nice & thin.
4. Slice apples thinly & place in bowl of water with a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar to prevent apple browning.
5. To assemble salad, arrange sliced fennel, celery, apple slices, cranberries & goat cheese on a platter; top with watercress. Sprinkle pomegranate seeds over salad & drizzle with dressing. Garnish with fennel tops & celery leaves.

By Lovoni

Fresh Hunger https://freshhunger.com/