Autumn Harvest Salad with Pomegranates

This Autumn Harvest Salad uses the beautiful produce available as the months start to get colder, such as delicata squash, kale, and pomegranates, as well as farro and goat cheese to make a hearty cold weather salad.  Then it is all tossed together with a maple apple cider vinaigrette!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Fred Meyer. The opinions and text are all mine.

Does the cold weather make you just crave comfort food?  I know it does that to me.  And although I have plenty of room on my meal plan for warm soups, cheesy pasta and all other kinds of comfort food, sometimes I want to keep it healthier and focus on fruits and veggies.  As I shared before with my Roasted Shrimp, Fennel and Grapefruit Kale Salad, I like my cool weather salads to be bulked up with roasted veggies and grains.  Here I have kept the farro and kale, but added roasted delicata squash and pomegranate aerials for that sweet tart zing.  Once again, my local Fred Meyer came through for me by having all the ingredients I needed for this salad, including these gorgeous pomegranates.

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Have you ever used a pomegranate?  They can seem a bit intimidating, but once you figure out how to prepare them they are actually very easy to work with.  There are a few methods suggested for how to de-seed the arils from a pomegranate.  I’ll tell you about three of them, and which one is my favorite.

How to de-seed a pomegranate:

1. 1. This is the most popular method online. Use a knife to score the skin of the pomegranate all the way around the middle, but don’t cut into the seeds.  Use your hands to gently pry the two halves apart.  Hold the pomegranate cut side down over a large bowl.  Be sure your hand is under the pomegranate.  Use a large spatula or spoon to smack the top of the pomegranate.  This is supposed to make all the seeds fall out easily.  This seems to work for many people, but it didn’t work very well for me.  Keep reading to see my prefered method.
   2. Score the skin of the pomegranate into quarters.  Carefully pry the quarters apart.  Use your thumb and fingers to remove the seeds (arils) from the white pith.  This is not my favorite method because it is very messy.  Often the juice will get all over everything and it can stain.
   3. Start the same way as option 2, by scoring the pomegranate skin into quarters.  However, for this method you will want a large bowl of cold water.  I like to use my salad spinner so that I can just lift the basket out of the water when I am done, retrieving all the seeds.  Under the water, pry apart the quarters, then use your thumb and fingers to gently separate the seeds from the white pith.  The seeds will sink to the bottom and most of the pith will float on top.  Remove the white pith from the water and drain the water, leaving you with only the arils.  This is my favorite method and I have found it works best for me.  Feel free to try different options to see which one you prefer!

I used farro in my salad but you can use another grain if you prefer – quinoa would also be nice.  And I love using delicata squash because it is so easy to work with – no peeling!  The skin of the delicata is edible.  The dressing is full of fall flavors with the maple syrup and apple cider vinegar.

What is your favorite fall and winter produce?

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Autumn Harvest Salad with Pomegranates

By Meghan McMorrow | Fox and Briar

4.62 from 26 votes

Prep 15 minutes mins

Cook 15 minutes mins

Total 30 minutes mins

Servings 4 Servings

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This Autumn Harvest Salad uses the beautiful produce available as the months start to get colder, such as delicata squash, kale, and pomegranates, as well as farro and goat cheese to make a hearty cold weather salad. Then it is all tossed together with a maple apple cider vinaigrette!

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1- 2 bunches kale center ribs removed and torn into small pices (6-8 cups)
• ▢ 1 delicata squash de-seeded and cut into half moons
• ▢ 1 cup cooked farro
• ▢ 4 ounces soft goat cheese chevre
• ▢ arils from one pomegranate about 1 cup
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• ▢ salt
• ▢ pepper

For Dressing:

• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• ▢ 1 garlic clove pressed or finely minced
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ▢ pinch of salt and pepper

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 400°F
• Toss delicata squash in 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, pepper and chili powder, arrange in a single layer on a lined baking sheet, Roast for about 15 minutes, or until golden and tender. Set aside.
• Whisk together all ingredients for dressing (I use a mason jar to shake them until combined)
• In a large bowl,add kale, delicata squash, farro, goat cheese and pomegranate arils. Pour dressing over and toss to fully coat everything in the dressing.

Notes

*cooking times doesn't include the time to cook farro

Nutrition

Calories: 369kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 168mg | Potassium: 1102mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 15400IU | Vitamin C: 175mg | Calcium: 282mg | Iron: 3.7mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dinners, Salad

Cuisine: American

Did you like this recipe?Please comment, rate and share! And don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @foxandbriar AND #foxandbriar so I can see what you made!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Fred Meyer. The opinions and text are all mine.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Fred Meyer. The opinions and text are all mine.

Comments submitted may be displayed on other websites owned by the sponsoring brand.