Arugula & Pear Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette

Blogging Marathon# 57: Week 2/ Day 1

Theme: Food52 Contest Recipes from here

Dish: Arugula & Pear Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette

We are starting a new week of blogging marathon and my theme is to cook from 'Food52 Recipe Contest winners'. I didn't really know about Food52 until I signed up for this and now it has vecome my go-to site to look for for new recipes.

So for people like me you are new to Food52, here's a little backstory: 'It was started by 2 foodies Amanda & Merrill to bring cooks together from all over to exchange recipes and ideas and to support each other in the kitchen. Food52 means you cook food for 52 weeks of the year'.

They have recipe contests every other week and the recipes are tested and voted by the community members. So you know for sure that the winning recipe is definitely going to be a winner. It was quite a challenge to decide what 3 recipes to make for the week. Luckily I was running low on fridge inventory, so picked 3 dishes based on the veggies I had left in the fridge.

First up is this easy to make and very delicious Arugula & Pear Salad. The dressing is a killer and I might make more next time and just drink it. Pomegranate molasses in the dressing gives it a nice fragrance and sweetness and also takes the edge off the tart vinegar. The shallots slightly pickle in the vinaigrette and taste amazing on the salad. This is one perfect Fall salad which I plan to make often this season.

 Ingredients: Serves 2

For the Salad:
Baby Arugula - 2 cups, lightly packed
Romaine Lettuce - 2 cups, torn into bite size pieces
Pear - 1 medium, cored and chopped into cubes
Pomegranate Seeds - ¼cup 

Goat or Feta Cheese - 3tbsp, crumbled
Pistachios - 2tbsp, toasted and coarsely chopped

For the Dressing:
Shallot - 1 medium, halved and thinly sliced
Pomegranate Molasses - 2tsp
Apple cider or sherry vinegar - 1tbsp
Extra Virgin Olive oil - ¼cup
Kosher Salt & Pepper - to taste

Method:

• Make the dressing: In a small bowl, combine shallot, pomegranate molasses, vinegar, salt and pepper and whisk until the salt is dissolved.
• Whisk in the olive oil and let it sit at room temperature until salad is ready.
• Make the Salad: Combine the arugula, romaine, pear and half of the pomegranate seeds in a large bowl.
• Crumble half of the cheese over the ingredients.
• Whisk the vinaigrette until uniform and add almost all of it to the salad, reserving about 1tbsp of it for later.
• Gently toss the salad to coat the ingredients evenly with the vinaigrette. 
• Crumble the remaining cheese over the salad and sprinkle the remaining pomegranate seeds and the pistachios over the top. Serve immediately.

 

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 57.