Chef notes
This elegant dish is colorful and bursting with flavor. The flavors deepen the longer it sits. You can swap the cheese for some Granny Smith apple if you’re looking to make it without dairy.
The pomegranate can be seeded up to two days ahead of time and chilled in the refrigerator — ask your kids to help. Here are my tips for how to peel a pomegranate:
First of all, you need to wear an old shirt that you don’t mind getting permanently stained. With a sharp paring knife, split the fruit in half, then into quarters; it will bleed red liquid all over, so be sure to use a large cutting board and have paper towels handy to sop up the liquid. Now, with your fingers, gently free the garnet seeds of fruit from the white pith. If you pull outside ends of the quarter of fruit apart, some will pop out easily, but you will have to carefully remove the white webbed covering. The remaining seeds will be clustered in groups and attached to the white pith. Gently pry them off into a bowl. Make sure there are no white bits clinging to the seeds. If covered, they will keep in the fridge for up to four or five days.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lacinato kale, cut into thin strips (chiffonade)
- 2 cups fresh mozzarella cheese in water, pearls or cubed, drained
- 2 cups fresh pomegranate seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon sliced serrano chiles
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- kosher salt and crushed black pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped or torn fresh mint leaves, for serving
Preparation
1.In a large bowl, combine kale, mozzarella and pomegranate seeds.
2.Add chiles, oil, vinegar, lime juice and stir.
3.Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir well again.
4.Garnish with mint just before serving. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
