Tomato & Walnut Salad with Pomegranate Dressing
I came across this Turkish salad in the excellent Moro cookbook. Walnuts feature a lot in Turkish cuisine, as does pomegranate molasses, although this is even more common in Persian dishes. The dish is simple to prepare: just make sure the tomatoes are ripe, in any case riper than those in the photo. Pomegranate molasses can be found in most Middle Eastern food shops: the Iranian 1 & 1 brand is very good. You can substitute ingredients in many dishes but I haven't come across anything else quite like pomegranate molasses. It's worth looking for and a bottle keeps for ages.
Summary
Preparation: 10mins
Serves: 4
Ingredients
500g | Ripe cherry tomatoes |
Method
Wash the cherry tomatoes, halve and transfer to a bowl. Unless you are lucky enough to be able to get fresh walnuts, it's best to blanch them in boiling water for a minute or so to remove any trace of bitterness, then rinse under the cold tap to bring back to room temperature. Put in the bowl with the tomato halves. Chop the parsley and add to the bowl too.
Next prepare the dressing by combining the water, pomegranate molasses, olive oil, garlic, cinnamon, salt and pepper with a whisk or similar until well blended. Add to the bowl with the tomatoes and mix gently until everything is nicely coated.
Serve immediately with some bread to mop up the dressing.
