Macheesmo

You might have noticed that Thanksgiving is, like, NEXT WEEK. This is obviously a very huge deal for a food writer. I mean, this is one time during the year were all diets get put in suspend mode and food coma levels reach new heights.

Because I care about your Thanksgiving success, I’m only posting Thanksgiving recipes until the big day which means you will get at least 4 and maybe 5 wonderful Thanksgiving recipes to use.

I know that salad is not the first thing that people think of when they think of Thanksgiving and it shouldn’t be. But I guarantee you that if you make this salad, it will be the star of the pre-turkey show. It only includes 4 ingredients and a dressing, but it is mouthwatering.

This is the perfect pomegranate salad:

Perfect Pomegranate Salad

by Nick

Serves:

Serves 4-6

Prep Time:

10 mins

Total Time:

15 mins

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A quick pomegranate salad with spinach, goat cheese, and a raspberry vinaigrette.

Ingredients

5-6 ounces baby spinach

1 pomegranate, seeded

6 oz. goat cheese

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted

Dressing:

1 heaping cup raspberries

3 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar

2 Tablespoons honey

1/4 cup olive oil

Pinch of salt

Instructions

1) Add raspberries to a small food processor and pulse a few times. Then add other dressing ingredients and process until mostly smooth.

2) Seed pomegranate by cutting it into quarters and breaking it apart under cold water. The seeds will sink and the pith will float.

3) Toss greens with a few tablespoons of dressing and coat well. Divide greens between a few plates.

4) Crumble goat cheese on greens and top with pom seeds and toasted walnuts.

SErve with extra dressing on the side.

I like to make the dressing first which is actually very easy. Just put your raspberries in a food processor:

And then add all of your other ingredients!

Anytime you are making a sauce or dressing or anything really, you should get in the habit of tasting it before you add it to anything. This is a key part to the dressing as the flavors can vary a lot based on your raspberries, balsamic, and honey. If you taste it and it is too sweet, add a dash more balsamic vinegar. If it is really bitter, add a bit more honey. It should be flavorful, but have some tang to it.

If you don’t have a food processor you could mash up the berries with a fork and then mix in all of the other ingredients or you could probably just go buy a raspberry vinaigrette, but it might not be as good.

Next on our list is to take apart a pomegranate. What a mystical fruit the pomegranate is. It is almost like Mother Nature said, “I’m going to give the world the most delicious of treats!” But then maybe she had a migraine or something so she changed it up: “Oh yea. I’ll give you that treat, but I will embed each little nugget of yummy in an impossible to decipher maze of CRAP.”

Luckily, the code has a key and the key is a big bowl of water. Just quarter your disaster fruit and pick it apart submerged in water. The kernels will sink and the crap will rise. Then you can just pour off the water and you are all set.

Now take that dressing that you’ve tasted and perfected and add it slowly to your greens. I keep a big bowl around for this and mix them up well. You want to make sure you have plenty of dressing, but be weary of over-dressing it. When in doubt, I like to put on less dressing and then put a small bowl of it on the table that people can use.

Next, just pile on your walnuts, pomegranates seeds, and crumbled goat cheese and you are in for a treat!

I am posting this as a Thanksgiving recipe because it is light and easy, but appears very decadent. It is also beautiful on the table and would goes well with other Thanksgiving foods. Obviously, this is not a Thanksgiving specific recipe though. I make it anytime I can find a good pomegranate.