This is my all time favorite salad.  I would say “for the moment” because I do like to  change it up, but I’ve been constantly craving and eating this salad for over a year now.  I look forward to pomegranite season just for this salad!

Pomegranite Pine Nut Salad

Serves 4

(4 regular adults, or 2 adults who are obsessed with it and 2 kids who are being forced to eat it)

Ingredients:

1 head of romaine lettuce

        short cut! Just use any Bag ‘O Salad, I especially like the baby spring greens.

1/2 C pine nuts

1/4 C French Feta Cheese

1/2 C pomegranite arils/seeds (about 1/2 a pomegranite)

Briannas Real French Vinaigrette (short cut built in – yay!)

First off, toast the pine nuts.  I usually put them in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes.  You’ll know they are done because they’ll start to smell all kinds of wonderful and look lightly browned.  (I know some people like to do it in a dry skillet, I just always seem to burn them that way)

While the nuts are toasting, chop up your romaine, or dump your bag of salad into a bowl.  Toss with a couple Tablespoons of dressing.  (I like mine lightly dressed, how do you like yours?)  There’s probably an amazing home made dressing out there that rivals Brianna’s, but I just love this stuff and it saves me 5-10 minutes.  I’d love to see links if you know of a recipe though!

Crumble your Feta Cheese on top of the dressed lettuce.  (If you must, use the dry greek stuff, but I think it’s the creaminess of the french feta that makes it so so yummy.  I’ve found the french variety at Kroger, but the Tnuva brand at Costco is imported from Israel and also has that slightly less mature mild and creamy texture.  It looks like a lot to buy, but we always go through it before it goes bad).

Dump the warm nuts on top.  I love how the heat softens the cheese ever so slightly.

Slice open that pomegranite and harvest the deliciousness inside!  Warning: things will get messy.  Your countertop (and sleeves) may look like there’s been some kind of massacre when you’re done, so just be forewarned!   

If you’ve never had pomegranite before, don’t be intimidated!  It’s a bit messy, but you will be rewarded.  Just slice it into quarters, peel back the white membranes and pluck out the seeds (aka arils).  If you see any that are milky and soft, those ones have gone bad, just skip them and focus on the firm, bright garnet colored ones.  I thought for so long that you were supposed to suck off the juice and then spit out the fibery part of the seed, and it seemed like a lot of work for a little bit of pomegranite.  Now I just eat the entire seed – more fiber for me!  My kids eat them like candy.  So pop out the second half of seeds too, save them in a jar in the fridge – instant snack.  Or toss them over your oatmeal the next morning – so yummy!

Dump on those arils, lightly toss.  (Just a note, if it’s not pomegranite season, dried cranberries make a pretty good sub, so you can feast on this year round.)

Enjoy!  My kids will eat everything but the cheese.  My husband and I devour the rest.  I could have this every day.