This unusual salad will take the center spot in any meal with its intense flavors and contrast of textures. I spotted the recipe around Thanksgiving last year, saved it to my Pinterest cooking board, and finally made it. Please, don’t drag your feet like I did, make it sooner rather than later. Green olives, walnuts, pomegranate seeds… What a treat!
GREEN OLIVE, WALNUTS & POMEGRANATE SALAD
(adapted from Alexandra’s Kitchen, original recipe at Turquoise)
3/4 cup shelled walnuts
1/2 cup pitted green olives, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup roasted cashews, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup pomegranate seeds
1 red Serrano chile, seeded and finely minced
shredded flat-leaf parsley to taste
1 tablespoon walnut oil
splash of pomegranate molasses
juice of ½ lemon
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oven to 350⁰F. Scatter the walnuts onto a jelly-roll pan and roast for 5-10 minutes, until deep golden brown. Chop the walnuts coarsely and toss in a sieve to remove any remaining skin or dust.
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss gently. Leave to stand for 5 minutes or so before serving to allow flavors to meld. Taste and adjust seasoning. I ended up adding more lemon juice.
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
Confession: I tend to be salad-lazy. I don’t mind making a recipe that involves plenty of steps, be it reducing a sauce, braising for hours, or as you probably know, bake a loaf of bread that took 12 hours to proof. But, ask me to make a multi-ingredient salad and I am invaded by a sense of pure exhaustion. Washing the greens, cutting all ingredients, preparing the dressing… However, this salad never left my mind from the day I saw it at Alexandra’s site, which, by the way, is a site worth subscribing to. And, did you notice? No greens to wash. Yeaaaaaah! 😉
Everything works in this recipe. I am a lot more fond of black Kalamata type olives than green, but trust me, they taste unbelievably good here. Together with the unique heat that only a Serrano pepper delivers, you’ll enjoy the sweet and sour taste of pomegranate molasses, the toasty walnuts, the herby parsley, the lemon, and last but not least the pomegranate seeds! Like little pine nuts dressed for a gala party…
We love them!
Three words for you: Make this salad.
ONE YEAR AGO: Romanian Flatbreads
TWO YEARS AGO: Ziti with Artichokes and Meyer Lemon Sauce
THREE YEARS AGO: Blasted Broccoli, Stove-top version
Bewitching Kitchen 
What a feast of colours. I would have never thought to pair olive and pomegranate but why not? I love them both separately so together, they could only be better ;-). Bet this would light up any Valentine’s day table… worth a little extra time while not having to wash any greens! (I hear you on the prep overdo). Perfect timing for this delightful salad Sally!
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Indeed, it could be great for V-day dinner, I did not think about it…
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The sweet and briny flavor combos in this must be fabulous!
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The pomegranate molasses were a great addition….
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What a great mix of textures and flavors. This looks like a must-try salad!
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And leftovers next day were my lunch… all by itself, nothing else needed… delish!
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What a great combination of ingredients! This would make a great salsa.
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Actually, we had it almost as such (will reply to Cindy about that)
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Looks good. What did you serve it with?
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Grilled pork tenderloin, butterflied – ready in 10 minutes, just with a simple lemon juice / olive oil brushing before grilling, salt and pepper.
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so beautiful and looks delicious. love the combination of the walnuts with the pomegranates- never done that before
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Me neither, would never imagined those ingredients together – I love when I find something unusual and delicious like this!
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So happy to hear you like this! And I couldn’t agree more about all of the chopping…this one is definitely worth the effort, and as you note, the plus is that there are no greens to wash! Beautiful post.
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Great to “see” you here…. I am already dreaming about that flourless choc cake you blogged about… cannot wait to try it!
thanks for stopping by!
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I hope you like it Sally! It is one of my new favorites.
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Oh, Sally! I pinned this as soon as I read the ingredients. This would be perfect for a Thanksgiving Dinner, that’s true, but I doubt I can wait that long. I’ve even sent it already to a friend of mine I’m sure will like it. This is a great dish, Sally. Thank you for sharing.
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Glad you liked it, John! Of course, I can take no credit for it, as never in a million years I would imagine pairing those ingredients together. But just like you, I was very excited to try it – it sounded great, and great it was!
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I’ve never been big into olives. They have to be in the right dish. Perhaps this will be the one. I know Mr. N and Mike would love this salad. Miss A, well, she’d pick out and eat all the pom seeds. 🙂
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