An absolutely delicious and vibrant salad with fresh pomegranate – it’s the perfect, healthy, and seasonal dish you want to include in your Rosh Hashanah menu.
This recipe is making it to you through a roundabout way. First, Leah was by her sister-in-law and ate a delicious salad. When she asked for the recipe, her sister in law said, “The recipe is from Victoria Dwek.”
Leah asked Victoria about it and it took her a few minutes to find it – she hadn’t even remembered that this recipe existed! It’s great to be reminded by other people who save and enjoy these recipes we sometimes forget about!
Then, Leah kept making the salad, all summer long with her sister-in-law’s adaptations–and knew it would be perfect for Rosh Hashanah.
Start with some dark greens (it could be spinach, kale, or that dark green summer crisp).
Add the quinoa (always add anything that’s brown first, you want the pretty, colorful ingredients to be on top), avocado, and tiny cubed apple.
Then add the pomegranate seeds. So perfect for this time of year.
The dressing is easy, just whisk together all the ingredients.
You can make this dressing a few days in advance.
Dress the salad right before serving. Feta cheese is optional in this recipe. We definitely recommend adding it if you’re serving this for a dairy meal.
What are some changes vs. the original version? The original also includes some Craisins instead of the apple, but we love the seasonal, fresh quality of this. The original dressing also has lots more basil (i.e. the entire pack of cubes) and more honey–feel free to add if you like more pesto sweetness or enjoy as-is.
Pomegranate Salad with Quinoa
Ingredients
- 5 oz greens (we used Summer Crisp)
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1 apple, finely diced
- seeds of ½ pomegranate
- ¼ cup slivered almonds (skip or sub if you don’t use for Rosh Hashanah)
- 2 oz feta, shredded or crumbled (optional for dairy meal)
Sweet Pesto Dressing:
- 4 frozen basil cubes
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 Splenda
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Prepare the dressing. In a jar, combine all ingredients.
- Assemble the salad. Add quinoa first, then avocado, apple, and pomegranate. Add almonds and/or feta if using.
- Drizzle with dressing. Don’t toss until everyone is ready to eat!
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Just to put this out there – many people are not aware that quinoa has to be checked. Star-K and CRC have instructions.
From Star-K:
Quinoa
Place quinoa (no more than 16oz at a time) in a strainer with holes small enough that it won’t fall through, ideally #15-25 size mesh.
Shake the quinoa over a white paper or lightbox for approx. 25-30 seconds
Check the surface of the paper or lightbox for insects. If any insects are found, the quinoa should not be used.
The most common insects being found are booklice and sometimes mites. See pictures below as well as a video demonstrating this checking method.
They also sell quinoa that is vacuum-packed with Eidah Hachareidis hechsher.
I’ve already had a pot of quinoa start crawling with insects when the heat was turned on, and the quinoa was originally from a vacuum sealed package but wasn’t stored in the freezer. I now store all raw quinoa in the freezer and check it on a white plate before using.
What do you mean by 1 Splenda? Is that one Splenda packet?
Yes.
Doesnt it say in gemeara that you are not allowed to use vinegar till after yom kippur? why do so many recipes use it??
It’s an early Minhag and not in gemara. In addition many who don’t use vinegar apply it to only sour recipes.
Most rabonim say it’s only an issue if the taste of the vinegar is very dominant in the recipe. If it’s just one if the ingredients, then it’s not a problem
each person should ask their own LOR regarding vinegar since there are varying opinions