POM Dressing:
Juice from 2-3 large POM Wonderful Pomegranates,* or 1 cup POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice, or POM Concentrate, reconstituted to the equivalent amount.**
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 shallots, peeled and minced
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1 cup extra virgin olive oil, or a blend of extra virgin and high quality vegetable oil
Turkish Chopped Salad with Arils:
3/4 cup arils from 1-2 large POM Wonderful Pomegranates
2 large vine ripe tomatoes, peeled
1 small cucumber, peeled and seeded
2 chiles, red or green (remove seeds for a milder salad)
1 sweet red bell pepper
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
3/4 cup halloumi cheese or feta cheese (optional)
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
4 to 6 pita or flat breads
PREPARATION:
POM Dressing: Prepare fresh pomegranate juice.* Put the pomegranate juice in a stainless steel saucepan and cook over medium-low heat until reduced to 1/4 cup. (This reduction will keep several weeks in the refrigerator in a clean, covered container.) Combine red wine vinegar, 3 tablespoons of pomegranate reduction, shallots, kosher salt and pepper; whisk until the salt is dissolved. Slowly add the oil as you continue to whisk. If it separates, just re-whisk before dressing the greens. This can be made and refrigerated ahead of time.
Turkish Chopped Salad with Arils: Score 1-2 fresh pomegranates and place in a bowl of water. Break open the pomegranates under water to free the arils (seed sacs). The arils will sink to the bottom of the bowl and the membrane will float to the top. Sieve and put the arils in a separate bowl. Reserve 3/4 cup of the arils from fruit and set aside. (Refrigerate or freeze remaining arils for another use.) Finely dice the tomatoes, cucumber, chiles and bell pepper. Combine in a bowl with parsley and mint and dress with the POM dressing. Garnish the salad with the crumbled cheese and fresh pomegranate arils. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with warm pita or flat breads.
Note:
* For 1 cup of juice, cut 2-3 large POM Wonderful Pomegranates in half and juice them with a citrus reamer or juicer. Pour the mixture through a cheesecloth-lined strainer or sieve. Set the juice aside.
**8oz or 1 cup of juice = 3 tbsp POM concentrate plus 6.5 oz water Conversion: 1 tablespoon of concentrate = 0.5 fl oz of concentrate To make pomegranate juice, mix 1 part concentrate with 4 parts water.
-Recipe courtesy of POM Wonderful and Chef Cindy Pawlcyn