Green Olive, Walnut and Pomegranate Salad
Simple Recipes Fasting Recipes Arabic Salads
A very light tangy salad. It's very attractive looking and travels well, so it's ideal for picnics. I took it with me to the bachelorette party weekend at the Balla Geza winery in Minis and served it with flatbread.
The recipe is from the book Turquoise by Greg and Lucy Malouf.
Ingredients
180g green olives (weighed without pits; start with 250g if you have olives with pits)
50g walnuts
50g pistachios (lightly toasted)
seeds from 1 pomegranate
1 red hot pepper
1 small red onion (about 40g)
1/2 bunch parsley
10 large mint leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil (or 1 tablespoon olive oil + 1 tablespoon walnut oil)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses (concentrated)
salt, black pepper
Servings: 4-6
How to prepare green olive, walnut and pomegranate salad
- Ideally, you should use mild olives that aren't too bitter (I used manzanilla). If the olives have pits, take each one, place the flat side of a knife on top, and press hard to crack the olive. This way the pit will come out easily in most cases. Chop the olives finely with a knife. Put them in a bowl.
- Coarsely grind the walnuts and pistachios in a food processor, giving just a few pulses so they don't become too fine - it's okay if some larger pieces remain. If you don't have a food processor, chop them with a knife.
* my pistachios were raw so I toasted them in the oven for 5 minutes at 170°C
** you can use only walnuts or only pistachios - Clean the pepper of membranes and seeds and chop finely. Finely chop the herbs. Add to the bowl.
- Remove the seeds from the pomegranate and add to the bowl.
- Finely chop the onion. Sprinkle with salt and let sit for 10 minutes. Squeeze (in your fist or cheesecloth) to remove the released juice, then add the lemon juice. Let it sit another 10 minutes to macerate. Then add to the salad along with all the juice.
- Taste the salad for salt and add more if needed. The olives are quite salty, so if it seems okay, don't add more. Grind black pepper.
- Mix the pomegranate molasses with the oil in a small cup and pour over the salad. Mix everything together.
- It can be served immediately but it's better if it sits. It keeps very well for 1-2 days in the fridge. It can be served as a salad with flatbread or as a side dish, alongside lamb.
