The Ottolenghi-style tomato pomegranate salad combines juicy tomatoes, sweet pomegranate arils, black lime marinated onions and fresh basil with a pomegranate molasses salad dressing. It's the perfect light lunch, side salad, or toast topper.
Servings4 people as a side
Equipment
- Spice grinder – if you have whole black limes
- Mandolin – or a shark knife
Ingredients
Black lime onions
- 1 baby red onion , or half a normal red onion
- 1 teaspoon ground black lime , or 2 teaspoons sumac
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- pinch salt
Pomegranate salad dressing
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses , or vino cotto
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
Tomato pomegranate salad
- ¾ cup pomegranate seeds
- 1½ pounds tomatoes , ideally a mix of different sizes and colours of ripe summer tomatoes
- 1 cup loosely packed basil leaves
- flaked sea salt (optional)
Instructions
- Thinly slice the onion into rounds using a mandolin. A sharp knife will also do the trick – cut the onion in half first and slice it into thin half-moon shapes.
- Place the onion slices in a small bowl with the rest of the black lime onion ingredients. Mix everything together and gently massage the black lime (or sumac) into the onions with your hands. Leave for 20 minutes to macerate and soften while you assemble the salad.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the pomegranate salad dressing ingredients. Set aside until needed.
- Slice any large tomatoes into discs. Cut small tomatoes (like cherry tomatoes) in half.
- Place the small, cut tomatoes in a large mixing bowl. Tear the basil leaves, reserving some for garnish, and add to the bowl. Add half the pomegranate seeds and all of the dressing. Then gently mix it all together.
- To serve, arrange the slices of large tomatoes along the edge of a shallow serving bowl. Sprinkle the tomato slices with flaked sea salt. Gently tip the small tomato mix into the centre of the bowl. Remove the black lime onions from the vinegar and scatter over the salad. Top with the remaining pomegranate jewels and basil leaves. Sprinkle with flaked sea salt to taste and serve straight away.
Notes
- For ground black limes, bash black limes with a heavy object and remove the seeds if there are any. Place the pieces in your spice grinder and blitz until fine. See how to make black limes at home for more information.
- There is more information and substitute suggestions in the ingredients section of the blog post.
- "Tomato and pomegranate salad" from Plenty More
- "Tomatoes with sumac onions and pine nuts" from Simple