POMEGRANATE QUINOA HOLIDAY TABOULI

SERVES: 3 TO 4

TIME: 45 MINUTES

Crunchy, succulent, and full of festive winter flavors, there’s a lot to love with this spin on the classic veggie entrée salad, especially its star ingredient—quinoa—a rapid-cooking, gluten-free stand-in for traditional bulgur wheat. Pretty enough to grace a holiday feast table, this salad also gets a protein boost from the firm black lentils and walnuts.

QUINOA LENTIL SALAD

1½ cups pomegranate arils, from about 1 large pomegranate

2 cups cooked red or confetti quinoa

1 (15-ounce) can black lentils, drained and rinsed, or 1½ cups homemade black lentils

4 scallions, green and white parts, chopped

2 cups roughly chopped, lightly packed flat-leaf parsley

½ cup chopped toasted walnuts

¼ cup roughly chopped fresh mint

VINAIGRETTE

¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Few twists freshly ground black pepper

1 Place the salad ingredients in a bowl and toss thoroughly.

2 In a glass measuring cup or bowl, whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients. Drizzle over the salad, gently combine, and serve immediately.

 

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RELEASE THE ARILS!

Love pomegranates but hate removing the seeds? (Arils, technically!) Try this insanely fast and fun method: score the pomegranate along its “equator” center with the tip of a sharp knife; use your fingers to pry the fruit into two hemispheres and gently tug apart the sides of each half just enough to loosen up the seeds a bit.

Now hold one half, cut-side down, in your palm over a large bowl. Find a large, heavy wooden spoon and sharply whack the hell out of the top of the pom half, working in a circle. The arils will fly right out into the bowl (or into your palm, but just shake them into the bowl); continue until all the arils are free and then work on the other half. Pick out any bits of rind from the seeds and enjoy the fruits of your violent, but minimal, labor.

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