Persimmon, Feta and Pomegranate Salad

Ingredients:

Salad

• 4 ripe Fuyu persimmons
• 4 cups arugula
• 4 cups baby spinach (can substitute other salad greens if desired)
• 1 medium red onion
• ½ cup of pecan or walnut halves, toasted and chopped
• ½ cup of feta, crumbled
• 1 medium avocado, peeled and diced into ½ chunks
• 1½ cups of pomegranate arils (seeds from one medium pomegranate, reserve juice)

Vinaigrette

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 3 Tablespoons pomegranate juice (can substitute fresh squeezed orange juice)
• 1 Tablespoon honey or maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Finely slice onion and place in a bowl of ice water for 15-20 minutes to remove some of the bite, then drain well. Cut persimmons into 8-12 wedges each, depending on the size of the fruit. (NOTE: no need to peel the persimmons unless you prefer to – the skin is perfectly edible!) Whisk together all of the vinaigrette ingredients until emulsified and set aside to assemble salad.
2. Combine arugula, spinach and red onion in a large serving bowl. Gently toss in persimmon wedges, feta, avocado and toasted nuts. Scatter pomegranate seeds on top, and drizzle with vinaigrette. Add a few grinds of black pepper and serve immediately.

This article first appeared in the November 2023 edition of the HealthPerks newsletter.