“When I was a child in Israel, the high holidays meant peeling two whole cases of pomegranates for our family’s holiday meals,” Chef Einat Admony recalls. “Out of two cases and the resulting twenty pounds of seeds, we would get only a few small jars of pomegranate preserve. It was tiring, detailed work and I used to hate it, but it would end up as part of our dinner, so I knew it was all for a good cause.”
Here she shares her recipe for her family’s traditional Rosh Hashannah dish.
QUINOA SALAD WITH POMEGRANATE AND PISTACHIO
Serves 4 as a main course, 8 as a side dish
Ingredients:
-Kosher salt
-1 1/2 cups uncooked quinoa, rinsed
-1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
-1/4 cup roughly chopped pistachios
-1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
-1/4 cup store-bought crispy shallots (see page 30) or onions
-Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
For the Vinaigrette:
-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
-1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
-1/2 tablespoon honey
-3 tablespoons olive oil
Method:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then add the quinoa. Cook for 12 minutes, then drain in a fine-mesh sieve and rinse under cold running water. Allow the quinoa to cool completely.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, honey, and olive oil to make the vinaigrette.
3. When you’re ready to serve the salad, combine all the ingredients, including 1 teaspoon salt and the vinagrette, in a large bowl and toss to blend all the flavors.
4. If you’re not planning on serving the salad immediately, hold off on adding the crisp shallots until the last minute so they don’t get soggy.
