Rosh Hashanah Recipe Box: Pomegranate Poppy Seed Salad

This past Shabbos I ate by my Aunt Rochie’s house, where she made this most delicious tasting pomegranate salad I have eaten in a long time.

When pomegranate’s are really in season (end of nov) my aunt and family are real fans and they eat them all the time as a great snack or add in to salads and other dishes.

Now with Rosh Hashanah less than a week away, this pomegranate salad could not be more fitting as a side dish to any of the meals you are serving.

This recipe is not the exact one my aunt made, since it was not her to give out, but with a little recipe testing and a few of my tweaks, (like adding dates and blueberries into the mix) this salad hands down beats any other simanim (symbol) salads that I have tasted and tested .

I especially love that the sunflower seeds have a little sweet spicy kick to them, and that there is a lot of savory and sweet elements to the whole salad in general.

Add in the texture of the blanched almonds and my added dates and blueberries -yummmm!!! -Not much more I can say?

Except -I probably will be making this salad all year long!

Pomegranate Poppy Seed Salad

Salad Ingredients:

1/2cup sunflower seeds

¼ cup confectioners’ sugar

½  tsp. cayenne pepper

1 Head Romaine Lettuce, chopped

1 Pomegranate, seeded

1 pint blueberries

½ cup chopped up fresh dates

¼ cup blanched slivered almonds

For the Dressing:

½ cup olive oil

2 ½  tbsp. white vinegar

2 tbsp. poppy seeds

1 tsp. garlic powder

Pinch of salt

Pinch of black pepper

1 packet of Splenda (or 1 ½ tsp. sugar)

In a small frying pan toast the sunflower seeds for about 1-2 minutes. Pour into small bowl and add the confectioners’ sugar and cayenne pepper and mix well. Set aside.

In a larger bowl add the rest of the salad ingredients and the sugared sunflower seeds –mix well.

In a small bowl add all the dressing ingredients and whisk well together. Pour over salad and mix well. Plate and serve.