Raspberry-Almond Salad w/Pomegranate-Balsamic Vinaigrette

I make a lot of salads in summer since they pair so well with grilled meat and other summer fare...besides, they're healthy and cool to eat on those "balmy" Texas  summer evenings! As I shared in my Newman's Own video post this spring, my go-to salad contains field greens, sliced strawberries, candied pecans, Israeli sheep feta, and a light raspberry vinaigrette. We eat this salad at least twice a week with dinner...we love it that much! But let's face it: sometimes a gal has to shake things up a bit to keep things fun and interesting in the kitchen.

Last week, I made a slight spin on our favorite salad...and we loved it as a nice change of pace! The salad was made with a bagged field green and herb mix, fresh raspberries, cubes of chunk feta cheese, and ready-to-use honey-glazed sliced almonds. A variation on my usual theme, if you will. The nice people at POM Wonderful recently sent me a case of their cranberry-pomegranate juice and a bottle of their POM juice concentrate to create some recipes to share with you in here.

The pomegranate juice concentrate was thick and tangy...it reminded me of the pom molasses I made as part of my POM Wonderful dinner party last November. When I tasted it, I thought it would make a GREAT addition to a homemade vinaigrette. This concentrate isn't available in stores, but it can be purchased online at the POM Wonderful website. For this salad, I simply added a bit of the tart/thick pomegranate concentrate to my favorite bottled balsamic vinaigrette before giving the salad a toss. It gave it a vibrant fruity taste that we really enjoyed, and it only took a minute to whip up!

Raspberry-Almond Salad with Pomegranate-Balsamic Vinaigrette

a Weekend Gourmet Original Recipe

Step 1:  Add a package of prepared field greens, 1 small container fresh raspberries, 1/3 cup honey-toasted sliced almonds, and 1/2 cup cubed chunk feta to a large bowl.

Step 2:  Make the pom-balsamic vinaigrette by combining 1/3 cup bottled balsamic dressing and 2-3 tbs. POM Wonderful pomegranate concentrate. In lieu of using this, I would suggest a mixture of 1/4 cup balsamic dressing and 1/4 cup pomegranate juice. Whisk well to combine.

Step 3:  Add the vinaigrette to the salad and toss well to evenly coat. Serve the salad immediately so the greens don't wilt. I served this salad as a side to some marinated pan-grilled chicken, but it would also make a fantastic main course with some boiled shrimp or cubed chicken breast tossed in.

The flavors in this salad blend exceptionally well together! The tart raspberries pair very nicely with the sweet-tart pomegranate-balsamic vinaigrette, and the sweet glazed almonds provide a nice counterbalance to that tartness. The tangy, salty flavor of the feta brings it all together. I hope you'll give this salad a try the next time you're looking for something cool and classy for a warm summer evening...

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