SERVES 4
While summer salads burst with the spoils of the garden (tomatoes!), winter ones can contain a lovely blend of greens—some of them slightly bitter—like various chicories, radicchio, watercress, arugula, mizuna, and romaine. The vinaigrette here offers a tang and the anchovy fillets a snappy, salty pungency. And any bitterness in the greens is softened with the milky sweetness of the fresh cheese and the natural sugars in the pomegranate seeds.
Pomegranates are a pleasure of the winter fruit bowl. Brilliantly sweet, with a thick, leathery, and soft skin that protects their jewel-like seeds, the pomegranate—granada—was brought to Spain around 800 CE, and today the country is Europe’s leading producer of the fruit. While grown extensively in Tarragona, Alicante, and Murcia, they famously gave the name to the most splendid city, Granada, during the later years of Muslim rule.
When the pomegranate season finishes at the end of January or early February, we start using pieces of pear in this salad instead.
1. Wash, drain, and spin or pat dry the greens.
2. In a small bowl, make a vinaigrette by whisking the olive oil and vinegar together until cloudy and blended. Season with salt and pepper and whisk again.
3. In a large salad bowl, toss the greens and the vinaigrette, turning over the leaves until moist and covered. Add the olives, cheese, and pomegranate seeds. Crisscross the anchovy fillets across the top. Serve from the bowl.
NOTE: To remove the pomegranate’s seeds, slice off the top crown. Run the tip of a knife along the natural compartments, cutting just through the skin. Pull the sections outward to open up the fruit. Gently remove the seeds, without breaking and losing any of their juices.