Pomegranate Rainbow Salad

I have been making variations of this salad since I backpacked around Turkey in 2012. Known locally as a ‘Shepherd’s Salad’ it is served with everything, all over Turkey. It combines all the seasonal local produce (cucumber, tomatoes and pomegranate) with parsley and mint.

The thing that truly sets this salad apart is the pomegranate seeds, available in abundance in Turkey throughout summer. These pink little jewels burst in your mouth and combined with the palate cleansing parsley make a deliciously juicy and refreshing salad. 

Ingredients

To make one large salad bowl:

• 1 punnet of cherry tomatoes 
• 1 cucumber
• 1 red pepper
• 1 yellow pepper
• 1 small red onion
• 1 pomegranate
• Large handful of parsley
• Small handful of mint leaves
• 1 lemon
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Optional sprinkling of sesame seeds

Dice all the vegetables.
Quarter the pomegranate and remove the seeds.
Finely chop the parsley and mint (remove the stalks if you have the patience, I just chuck it all in). 
Toss all the ingredients together in a large salad bowl.
Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and the juice of one large lemon. 

Serve with... 

I love to make a large bowl of it and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. It pairs perfectly with grilled chicken or fish, feta cheese, chickpeas or hummus. And it’s a beautiful rainbow of colour! 

Health benefits of Pomegranate

Pomegranates are a rich source of vitamin C (important for skin healing, anti-ageing and immunity) and thanks to their unique polyphenols have shown to reduce the risk of high blood pressure and support healthy hearts and prostates. 

Get them while they’re in season and available in the UK - summertime! If you can’t get pomegranates you can put a Moroccan spin on the same salad here.