Give Me Five: Pomegranate and orange salad

To ease myself into the new year, I’m making slightly healthier dishes that still maintain an indulgent element. I think it’s not quite appropriate to go cold turkey. In fact, we’ve had quite enough of turkey altogether, as lovely as it was, so now on to some nourishing foods to brighten and lighten our days.

The first time I made this salad, I went out and bought the ingredients again and made it for a few days straight, proclaiming to anyone who would listen how delicious it is. How, with so few elements, can it be so complex and yet so easy to make? It’s a wonder of a recipe and quite addictive.

This can be served as is for a light lunch or alongside roast duck, fish or lamb. The baby spinach leaves are gently softened in a simple dressing, then layered with orange slices and flecked with pomegranate arils.

Thanks to London-based Israeli chef Yotam Ottolenghi, most of us are quite familiar with pomegranates in cooking. Many of his dishes are sprinkled with these pretty, ruby-red jewels, and he often uses pomegranate molasses for marinades and dressings. The molasses is a fantastic ingredient to have. It pours syrupy thick like treacle and has a fruity intense piquant taste. It can be a great substitute for lemon juice or a slightly acidic balsamic. This is pomegranate season, so choose richly coloured fruit over the pale ones. Look for one that’s heavy for its size, as that’ll be the juiciest.

Cut the fruit in half place the cut side on your palm and tap the back with a wooden spoon to knock out the little arils.

Over the past few years, pomegranate has been labelled a “superfood”; a wonder fruit that can cure all that ails you. I try not to take too much notice of these marketing terms and food trends. No one food should be held in high esteem above all others. I think a varied diet rich in colourful fresh fruits and vegetables is the key. It is a benefit if it’s extremely nutritious, but it has to taste good too, especially if I’m serving it up to a three-year-old. Luckily my children love pomegranates, especially as they have to work to release the seed from the bitter pith. It’s such a messy and enjoyable job.

I use spinach leaves here, as they don’t dominate the dish and are a great way to introduce raw greens back into your diet after the indulgence of Christmas. Mixed salad leaves would make a fine substitute. A little finely diced red onion could be used in place of the shallot, but I find regular yellow onions a little too overpowering for this dish. The subtle flavour of shallots is perfect, and they add great crunch.

Oranges are so festive and there are always some left over that didn’t make it into the mulled wine, so use them here. I love oranges in savoury dishes and they really shine when paired with this dressing.

I use Dijon mustard in most of my salad dressings. It’s creamy and smooth with medium heat. Simply shake the oil, vinegar and mustard together in a jam jar until they form a creamy dressing. Red wine vinegar, balsamic, a mild cider vinegar or pomegranate molasses can be the acidic element of the dressing.

I finish this salad with a final sprinkling of crunchy sea salt flakes and a few twists of black pepper. It makes a huge difference to season the dish right before serving. As well as being delicious, this salad is a feast for the eyes, glittering and colourful when piled high on a serving platter and placed in the middle of the table.

POMEGRANATE AND ORANGE SALAD: SERVES 4

The five ingredients

• 250g baby spinach leaves
• 3 oranges
• 1 pomegranate
• 1 shallot, very finely sliced
• 2tsp Dijon mustard

From the cupboard

• Olive oil
• Balsamic or red wine vinegar
• Sea salt and black pepper

Method

Whisk three tablespoons of olive oil and two tablespoons of vinegar with the mustard. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour most of the dressing over the spinach leaves and ensure each leaf is coated. Place the spinach leaves on a large plate or platter.

Slice the top and bottom from the oranges. Slice off the peel carefully using a sharp paring knife. Remove as much pith as possible, keeping the fruit in place. Cut into slices of half an inch thick.

Add the shallot and orange slices to the platter of spinach. Scatter with the pomegranate seeds and drizzle with the remaining dressing and a little sea salt for crunch, then add some more black pepper.

Every Thursday we’ll tweet the five ingredients from @irishtimeslife so you can have them ready for Friday. Email givemefive@irishtimes.com with your suggestions for recipes.