Pomegranate - Raspberry Vinaigrette and the Salads

Pomegranates are quite in season right now. They come here from the Mediterranean regions. I love to add them in fruit salads, but I felt like making something along with green salads leaves and then the thought of a red raspberry vinaigrette came to my mind, which I had eaten once a long time ago at a restaurant. Since I had frozen raspberries I felt like trying it out.
While making the vinaigrette, I remembered the bottle of pumpkin seed oil which I had bought recently, after having prepared some pumpkin recipes and having felt the urge to use pumpkin seed oil as well. But somehow I never came to use it until now. And I opened the bottle of the oil and the smell of it told me immediately that it was just the right kind of salad oil for this sweet dressing. It has a very pleasant, a sweet and delicate flavour, which you don't guess on seeing the dark colour of the oil. The dark colour of the oil made the dressing not so bright red in colour, but I feel it still looks quite beautiful.

Pomegranate Raspberry Vinaigrette

Modified from the recipe of Raspberry Vinaigrette from 'Le Cordon Bleu - Saucen (German version)'

Ingredients:
50 g raspberries
50 g pomegranate seeds
2 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar
50-100 ml pumpkin seed oil (organic) - use quantity to taste
100-150 ml neutral oil like maize or sunflower (depending on the amount of pumpkin seed oil used)
1 tbsp sugar or to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

• Puree raspberries and pomegranate along with the vinegar using a hand stick blender
• pour the oils slowly one after the other while mixing with the hand blender
• pass through a fine sieve to remove the seeds
• add sugar, salt and pepper to taste

Avocado and Pomegranate Salad


Serves 4 people

Ingredients:
1 small yellow bell peppers, washed and cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 pomegranate, the seeds
1-2 ripe Avocado, halved, peeled and cut into long slices or bite sized pieces
salad leaves like arugula or corn salad - a handful per person, washed, and, if required, cut into smaller pieces
1 1/2 tbsp pumpkin seeds, roasted in very little olive or sunflower oil
30-40 ml pomegranate and raspberry vinaigrette
4 tsp pumpkin seed oil

Method:

• Lay the salad bell peppers, avocado and pomegranate on the plates
• roast the pumpkin seeds till they start to pop and sprinkle over the salad
  
• Drizzle little vinaigrette and the pumpkin seed oil and serve

I love this combination of pumpkin seed oil and the two fruits - raspberries and pomegranate. It is a kind of vinaigrette, which I feel goes very well with avocado, as suggested in the book as well. Since I the beginning I wasn't very sure about what all things to combine with it, I just stuck to avocado and pomegranate seeds along with the corn salad. And it was lovely! I loved the sweet and tangy pomegranate seeds in the salad, and the combination of pomegranate with raspberries in the vinaigrette. So, the next time I also added yellow bell peppers and tomatoes, as I feel they are also on the sweeter side in flavour, and used arugula leaves. I would have loved to add some roasted pumpkin seeds to it, but just didn't remember in time and then later on my two men were too hungry for me to let them wait longer. But, it is worth the effort and I love to add roasted nuts and seeds in my salads, whatever kinds they be.

I'm sending this over to the POM Wonderful Contest being held at The Leftover Queen this month.

POM Wonderful is offering attractive prizes and all the Foodie Blogroll members are eligible to take part in it. Check at the FoodieBlogroll/leftover Queen Forum for details.