There’s something I can’t stop thinking about lately, and it’s the reason why my fridge is currently stocked with fresh greens:
I love salad.
I know, I know. This isn’t the kind of revelatory factoid you want someone to drop on you at a dinner party.
As Bart Simpson says, “You don’t win friends with salad.”
It doesn’t provoke much response, or invite lengthy discussion. Salad can be boring.
What’s there to say about it? We eat it before we consume something heartier and more interesting. Like, say, enjoying a homemade roast chicken dinner.
Nonetheless, I love it. I really do. I love the way I feel when I eat a salad, particularly afterwards. I feel so light and refreshed and… I don’t know. Clean.
I started making salad for Tim and myself regularly in the midst of our holiday celebrations, when my digestive system was starting to feel so overloaded with rich back-to-back-to-back dishes like creamy casseroles, succulent meats, and flaky pies that it didn’t know what to do with itself.
And we’ve had one almost every day since.
Lately, there’s been one ingredient in particular I’ve been loving in particular on my mixed greens:
Our local grocery store sells these for less than a dollar a piece, so we’ve routinely had the vibrant red, juicy arils on our salads lately.
We’ve been enjoying the combination of these ruby jewels with sweet satsumas and thin slices of red onion on top of assorted greens.
I love how colorful everything looks on the plate. But what I really appreciate is how seasonal the ingredients in this recipe are.
Believe it or not, winter is the perfect season for citrus fruits, in addition to the typical cool-storage root vegetables. And pomegranate season is also in the late fall through early winter!
I always like to take full advantage of the winter season’s bounty. You’ll find me in the kitchen baking fluffy satsuma cakes, and making huge bowls of this simple salad.
I love how it features different flavors and textures: crunchy pomegranate seeds that burst with juice, sweet and citrusy satsumas, and savory red onions. They all get tossed together with a zippy homemade balsamic vinaigrette.
What would take it to the next level is a sprinkling of our savory granola!
There’s nothing else like it. And while you could say it’s just that crazy salad obsession talking, I’ve been making this delicious recipe constantly, all winter long.
Don’t be surprised when you find yourself wanting another plateful.
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Satsuma, Red Onion, and Pomegranate Salad
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Our satsuma, red onion, and pomegranate salad is a vibrant dish that’s full of sweet and tangy flavors paired with a balsamic vinaigrette.
Ingredients
- 1 5-ounce bag spring mix lettuce
- 1 small head romaine, about 4–5 ounces, roughly chopped
- 6 satsumas, peeled and segmented
- 1/4 medium red onion, thinly sliced (about a heaping 1/2 cup)
- 1 pomegranate, seeded
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place the spring mix, romaine, satsumas, red onion, and pomegranate seeds in a large salad bowl.
- Whisk together the vinegar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Continue whisking while you pour the olive oil into the bowl in a thin stream, whisking until an emulsion forms and the vinaigrette thickens.
- Pour the vinaigrette into the salad bowl. Gently toss everything together with tongs until the vinaigrette is evenly distributed. Serve immediately.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: Vegetarian
Keywords: salad, satsuma, pomegranate, red onion, balsamic vinegar
Cooking by the Numbers…
Step 1 – Prep the Ingredients
With a sharp knife and sturdy cutting board, roughly chop the romaine lettuce. Thinly slice the red onions, and don’t forget our advice on how to avoid those tears!
Peel and segment the satsumas.
Remove all the seeds from the pomegranate.
Is this your first time trying to accomplish this, or do you need a refresher? Study our tutorial for perfectly prepping pomegranate. And if you need some other ideas to use up any leftovers, use them as a garnish for our pomegranate orange ice cream, or in our vegan cookies!
Measure out the balsamic vinegar, salt, freshly ground black pepper, and olive oil.
Step 2 – Combine the Greens, Fruit, and Onion
Add both varieties of lettuce, the red onions, citrus segments, and pomegranate seeds to a large salad bowl. Play with what greens you decide to use! Add some arugula, or use some frisee!
But don’t mix yet! Keep those orange segments as pristine as possible by only tossing the ingredients together once, when you’re ready to add the vinaigrette.
Step 3 – Make the Vinaigrette
Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
Continue whisking while you pour the olive oil into the bowl in a thin and steady stream, until an emulsion forms and the vinaigrette becomes thick and smooth.
Step 4 – Toss and Serve
When you are ready to serve (and not a moment before!), pour the vinaigrette into the salad bowl. Gently mix everything together with tongs until the vinaigrette is evenly distributed.
Serve immediately!
A dressed salad will quickly become limp and wet if you combine the dressing with the lettuce mixture too far in advance before serving, a common error made with most salads. So we always recommend combining the vinaigrette directly before eating.
Another way to avoid this is by serving the lettuce, fruit, and onion mixture on plates with the dressing on the side.
Red Onion too Strong? Here’s the Best Solution
Phew! That is one pungent onion you have there!
If you need to calm down a feisty allium, this is one of my favorite tricks of the trade:
Place the onion slices in a shallow bowl, and pour about two tablespoons of the vinaigrette over the top. Let the slices marinate in the dressing for about 10 minutes before using them in the recipe.
This easy technique minimizes the sting from a raw onion, gently infusing it with sweet and sour flavors.
And there’s no need to waste those two tablespoons of dressing – pour those spoonfuls back into the vinaigrette!
Onions or no onions, if you can’t get enough of fresh, clean, and crisp salads, here are a few more recipes from Foodal to try next:
- Arugula and Dijon with Figs, Pistachios, and Pea Shoots
- Bosc Pear with Dried Currants and Toasted Hazelnuts
- Simple Kale with Garlic, Lemon, and Pecorino
What do you think of this fruity salad? How do you like your red onions: raw, gently marinated, or thrown out a window? Leave a comment below, and we’ll be happy to chat with you.
Photos by Nikki Cervone, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details. Originally published by on January 3, 2012. Last updated on January 27, 2021. With additional writing and editing by Nikki Cervone.
Nutritional information derived from a database of known generic and branded foods and ingredients and was not compiled by a registered dietitian or submitted for lab testing. It should be viewed as an approximation.
About Shanna Mallon
Shanna Mallon is a freelance writer who holds an MA in writing from DePaul University. Her work has been featured in a variety of media outlets, including The Kitchn, Better Homes & Gardens, Taste of Home, Houzz.com, Foodista, Entrepreneur, and Ragan PR. In 2014, she co-authored The Einkorn Cookbook with her husband, Tim. Today, you can find her digging into food topics and celebrating the everyday grace of eating on her blog, Go Eat Your Bread with Joy. Shanna lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with Tim and their two small kids.
Loved the pomegranate salad – looks perfect for post-holiday eating. Over here in the UK, we’re also getting the benefit of pomegranates in season. A friend once taught me to deseed them by cutting them in half through across the middle, holding one half in your cupped palm, cut-side down, so that there’s a little space between the cut side of the fruit and your palm and then sharply smacking the skin of the pomegranate with the bowl of a spoon. Almost miraculously, the seeds pop out leaving the pith behind (if some of the pith also comes out, it is separated from the arils. With a little practice, you can deseed a pomegranate in just a minute or so.
That sounds excellent, Paul! Tim and I can’t wait to try this method–thanks for telling us! : )
My sister, as well as some of my closest friends, have been known to call, text or email me to share notes about a glorious salad they’ve just enjoyed. I love the bright colors of this salad; so cheerful and vibrant on these gray January mornings.
These sound like my kind of people–how nice to have them in your life!
Oh, you make salads the way my mother makes salads–crunchy with sweet and tangy fruits and a tart and acidic dressing. She brings them to every family occassion, dotted with pops of color against the flowery greens, and I am always so in awe of the way she throws them together. Salad making is a true gift–which you obviously have!
What a nice compliment to your mother! I love the way you described her salads as “dotted with pops of color against the flowery greens.”
This looks just perfect and exactly what I’m craving right now. I’ve had salads for the lunch for the past 3 days and I’m in no way tired of it. Actually, I’ve been searching for new combinations to try once school starts back next week so I’m definitely going to give this one a go 🙂
A kindred spirit! Thanks, Laken! Hope you enjoy this. : )
personally, i think the reason why i love salads so much, even when it’s cold and the weather is begging for something hearty & warm, is that it reminds me of spring and summer, when it’s the norm to have a quick & simple meal of it. it makes winter all the more bearable when i can have something as fresh as a salad, as maybe this salad.
i’ve never had pomegranate before, somehow the juice just doesn’t count, and i’ll be honest, i’m quite fearful of the seeds for some reason. but the freshness & color factor sure do make me rethink my stance.
exactly–the way they remind us of spring and summer are just one more point for salad! And Lan, don’t be afraid of pomegranates! I watched Tim do it twice before I was brave enough to try, but now I’m sold. Definitely want to try the way Paul suggested in the comments next. : )
love pomegrantes in salad! I made one for a christmas dinner with pears and truffle oil vinaigrette and it was lovely!
Oh, pomegranates with pears sounds so good!
That is the most perfect picture of an orange I’ve ever seen. !
Aw, thanks!
The salad is absolutely gorgeous! I use the same method for getting the seeds out of the pomegranate (mostly because I lack patience and don’t mind getting a bit dirty). Every time I cut open a pomegranate I just can’t believe how beautiful they are inside.
No kidding, I just said to Tim yesterday that sometimes I look and fruit and just can’t believe it—pomegranates especially. The way they are made, so intricately filled with deep red seeds and how stunning they are… it’s amazing.
Nice! I actually just had my first pomegranate ever over Christmas! So delicious! You should get the dark chocolate covered pomegranate seeds at Trader Joes–so yum. 🙂
Christmas is the perfect time to have them! I love how festive they are, all red and shiny. I even talked my family into putting them on our salad on Christmas day. : )
this looks fantastic and so healthy… happy 2012!!!
You too! Thanks!
ah, you and me both 🙂
I will have to try this method to get the seeds out of a pomegranate and try this salad… it looks delish!
You won’t regret it, Lauren. I am addicted!