The Elegant Fall Salad: Apple, Pomegranate and Arugula Salad with Apple Cider-Honey Vinaigrette

This past weekend, I attended the perfect dinner party at my perfect friend’s perfect house. Remember these refreshing Sage Rush cocktails I posted about early this summer? Yep, that was him. Perfect, I tell ya. Happily, Jeff allowed us to be a bit more helpful this time around, and we all were assigned dishes to bring.

Needless to say, when we decide to bring the party TO the perfect house, we all stepped up our game a bit. Since I was assigned to bring an “elegant salad”, I knew I had to seek out a new recipe. The truth is, my salads have become a bit tired lately. This is a common problem with me, so much so that I had purchased a pretty cookbook a few summers back that was dedicated JUST to the salad: Raising the Salad Bar by Catherine Walthers.  I went looking for some inspiration, and I found it with a recipe that included pomegranate seeds, goat cheese, and apples.  

This was a great make-ahead salad, and I would think that it would be a very welcome addition to any fall or holiday dinner party, including the big ones at Thanksgiving and Christmas. The lightness of the ingredients, the clean taste of the vinaigrette, and the altogether attractiveness of this salad makes for a great side to things like roasts, scalloped potatoes, and all the other good stuff we like to eat this time of year. 

But you also don’t need to wait for a party to make this salad either. Though my typical weeknight salads are usually thrown together in the last 30 seconds before we sit down to eat, I found that with a little bit of prep at the beginning on the week (seeding the pomegranate, toasting the spiced nuts, and making a large batch of vinaigrette), we’d be eating an “elegant” salad all week long. 

Apple, Pomegranate and Arugula Salad with Apple Cider-Honey Vinaigrette

Adapted from Raising the Salad Bar by Catherine Walthers

I made a few adjustments to this salad, including switching out the nuts and going beyond toasting them by making quick spiced nuts. For my method and for a tip on seeding a pomegranate, see the notes below the recipe.

Ingredients

1 crisp apple (I used Honeycrisp)*

fresh lemon juice (if needed)

6-7 cups arugula, washed and dried (or mix in other micro greens- I added some pretty mache)

¼ cup pomegranate seeds**

¼ cup pecans, toasted and chopped***

Goat cheese, crumbled (about 1/3 cup after crumbled)

Apple Cider Honey Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 ½ teaspoons honey

6 tablespoons olive oil

2 pinches of salt

a few grinds of fresh black pepper

Directions

Wash the apple and cut into quarters, leaving the skin on. Put half the apple aside for another use (or to snack on while cooking).  Chop the apple in small cubes—if prepping the salad for a later use, use a bit of lemon juice to keep the apple from browning.

In a small bowl, make the vinaigrette by whisking together the vinegar, honey, olive oil and salt.

Prep the rest of the ingredients: seed the pomegranate (see below for tips), candy or toast the nuts, crumble the goat cheese. If you aren’t planning on serving this salad right away, put each ingredient in its own small container or plastic bag to keep fresh.

Just before serving, toss the greens, apples, nuts, goat cheese and pomegranate seeds together with just enough dressing to lightly coat the leaves. If you are looking to serve this elegant salad to a group, reserve a small portion of pomegranate seeds to sprinkle on top of the salad so that they really stand out!

*As we move past Thanksgiving and towards Christmas, you might try swapping out the apple for pear in this salad, which would be just delicious (and gorgeous!)

**To seed a pomegranate, use a paring knife to cut just through the thin skin in a complete circle. Twist the two halves in opposite directions, gently splitting apart the pomegranate. Fill a large bowl with cold water and submerge the pomegranate half, working to release the seeds from the pith with your fingers. The pith will float, making it easy to discard. The seeds will sink to the bottom. When all the seeds are released, drain the seeds in a colander and allow to dry on a paper towel.

***To make quick spiced pecans, heat a pat of butter in a pan over medium heat. Once melted, add a cup of pecan halves (walnuts are also great here). Stir so that the pecans are coated in butter, add a tablespoon of brown sugar, about a ½ teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. For a bit of a kick, add a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper. Toss together and stir every 30 seconds for about 2-3 minutes. These nuts will cook quickly and can burn very fast—pay attention and let cool on a plate before serving. You will have extra on hand for snacking purposes or for future salads.