My little hobby garden has been quite prolific of late with my fall planting of kale and arugula, and I really enjoy being able to harvest and bring the bounty straight in to the table. This Kale, Arugula and Bacon Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette is so easy and forgiving. Start with the basic greens, add in bacon or crisp pancetta, some pears, pomegranate seeds or other fruits or all of those, and you have a delicious and tasty lunch or light dinner.
I know there are people who are in the “I don’t care for kale (or arugula) camp,” but Hubby and I don’t belong. We both really enjoy both tremendously. In fact, one of his favorite side dishes is sauteed kale with garlic and olive oil. I’m not talking about cooked-to-death kale either. We both prefer it just slightly sauteed. So, so easy. The fact that kale has become the “recently-discovered queen” of the healthy greens group is somewhat amusing. I can easily remember my grandmother preparing it just as she would turnip or collard greens (cooked for a much longer time period than I would today).
I’ve been an arugula fan for years, probably ever since we first began gardening and experimenting with heirloom varieties of herbs and vegetables. Did you know that arugula is actually a Mediterranean herb. In fact, it has been used medicinally to cure ulcers for years among certain cultures. Supposedly the oil can also be used for medicinal purposes, but I do not have any first-hand knowledge of that.
I really like its strong, peppery taste. It adds just the right amount of bite, I think. Try using it stirred into linguine or other pasta with just a toss of halved grape tomatoes and a sprinkling of shaved Parmesan. I could eat that every day, honest.
I don’t really have a recipe for the salad, ya’ll. I just chop up some baby kale (or kale leaves), baby arugula, throw in some fruit usually, sprinkle on some crushed Petit Jean bacon (peppered if I have it) and garnish it with pomegranate seeds and honey roasted nuts. I may add in some leftover grilled chicken if that’s available as well. What tops it off and really adds tremendous flavor is this Pomegranate Vinaigrette.
Let me know if you give this a try. It rather stars in this salad.
- 1 cup pomegranate juice (I use Pom brand.)
- 1/2 - 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup or honey
- 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon good quality balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- In a non-reactive small saucepan over medium-high heat, reduce the pomegranate juice to 1/3 cup, approximately 10 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in remaining ingredients; set aside to cool.
- Drizzle over salad just before serving.
- Use only pure pomegranate juice.
