Pomegranate & Passionfruit Salad Recipe | Winter Salad Recipe

If you saw my pomegranate and passionfruit cupcakes recipe last week, you’ll know that I was very excited that such summery sounding ingredients were in season at this time of year. And I loved that flavour combination so much, I wanted to use it again in another recipe. This pomegranate & passionfruit salad recipe has an even more summery feel than the last one, but surprisingly, is even more seasonal with three of the four main ingredients being in season/ coming into, this is a true winter salad recipe.  

I know that not everyone will want a salad recipe in November, but if you’re like me and love salads all year, want to eat in season but want a lighter option to add to your meal rotation, you happen to live in Australia/ NZ and it is summer, or simply like the sound of it and want to make it a side dish instead, give it a chance. Or bookmark and save for next summer. 

The flavours in this recipe are balanced perfectly to complement each other. The dressing is a mix of sweet and sour, blended with the salad ingredients, the peppery cashews and rocket and the sweetness of the pomegranate seeds make the perfect contrast. As well as having a crunch in every bite to keep a great texture balance.  

In season  

I keep talking about how wonderful it is that a summery dish is actually in season at this time of year, so I thought I’d give a quick overview of the ingredients that are/ aren’t in season right now.  

Passionfruit – Yes, they have a summer season. But they’re also coming into season now in mid-November and will reach the end of their winter season in early to mid-March. 

Pomegranate – Early season pomegranates start to come in late November, but their main season runs throughout winter, December to March.   

Kale – I know, I know. You think kale and probably think of summer salads, but despite being available all year, kale is in peak season September to February. 

Rocket – Rocket is unfortunately just out of season, being at its best from May to October.  

Nutritional Information  

Each serving of this salad, including the dressing, contains 460 calories, 16g of fibre, 16g of protein and contains 3 of your 5-a-day. 

In terms of vitamins and minerals, it contains the full recommended daily amount of vitamin C and K and two thirds of your daily vitamin A.  

It’s also a good source of potassium, folate and calcium. And the walnut oil from the dressing provides some plant-based omega 3. Each serving contains 3mg of iron, which is just under a third of the RDA for men, and women over 50 and about 20% of the RDA for women ages 18-50.

Further Reading: NHS Guide to Iron

Does it keep? 

The dressing will keep for approximately 4 days if kept refrigerated, but I’d recommend storing the salad and dressing separately and only dressing before serving if you wish to meal prep this for a later date.  

Personally, I prefer this fresh when the chickpeas are still hot, especially if you are eating this as an autumn/ winter salad. However, all of the fresh ingredients will keep if you wish to meal prep this for a lunch the following day. If you’re keeping the salad prepped, it will only store for two days.  

Ingredient Substitutions  

This salad has been structured to get both a balance of flavours and nutritional value, but it does contain one major allergen – nuts.  

To make this recipe nut free, substitute the walnut oil in the dressing for olive oil and swap the cashew nuts for peppered seeds.   

Pomegranate & Passionfruit Salad Recipe 

A perfect winter salad recipe with a sweet and zesty dressing, perfectly balanced with a peppery salad with lots of crunch.  

This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, soy free and vegan. It does contain nuts.  

Print

Pomegranate & Passionfruit Salad Recipe

A perfect winter salad recipe with a sweet and zesty dressing, perfectly balanced with a peppery salad with lots of crunch.

Course Dinner, Lunch, Salad

Cuisine Other

Keyword Pomegranate & Passionfruit Salad, Winter Salad Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 2

Calories 460 kcal

Ingredients

Salad

• 100 g kale
• 60 g rocket
• 1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
• Pinch peri peri salt
• Black pepper to taste
• 1 tsp sunflower oil
• 1 pomegranate
• 40 g black pepper cashews

Dressing

• 1 passion fruit
• Juice of ½ lime
• 1 ½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
• ½ tbsp walnut oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 220°c

2. Add drained and rinsed chickpeas to a bowl and toss with the sunflower oil, peri peri salt and black pepper to evenly coat. Place on a baking tray in the centre of the oven for 25 minutes, or until lightly crispy. You want them to be crispy so they don’t get soggy in the dressing, give them an extra few minutes if necessary!
3. While the chickpeas are cooking, prep the dressing. Scoop out two passion fruits and add to a blender along with all of the remaining dressing ingredients. The dressing should be quite thin and fluid.
4. Add the kale and rocket to a bowl and add half of the dressing, toss to evenly coat. Then add in the cashews, pomegranate and cooked chickpeas and toss in the remaining half of the dressing. You’re unlikely to need the full pomegranate, I measured it out so I had roughly the same amount of pomegranate as chickpeas, which was about ¾ of the pomegranate.
5. Divide evenly into two bowls.

Serve and enjoy!

I know that this sounds like a summery dish and some people will not be on board with a salad in November, but I love that this dish means it’s still accessible to eat in season and eat a fresh dish like this rather than the typical root vegetables you get at this time of year.  

Are you in favour of an autumn/ winter salad or are you saving this one for summer? 

Until next time, 

Sophie 

3