Citrus, Pomegranate and Mint Salad

Tu B’Shevat Citrus, Pomegranate, and Mint Salad

Serves 4-6 (recipe can be doubled or tripled as needed)

for the salad-

• 1 small head of lettuce, your favorite variety (Speckled, Romaine,Little Gem)
• 2 small Cara Cara oranges (or any available orange)
• 1 small blood orange (or any available orange)
• 2 tangerines
• ½ cup feta cheese, cubed small or crumbled
• ⅓ cup pomegranate seeds
• ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

for the dressing-

• 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon honey, or to taste
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

Start by removing the peel and outer membrane from all of the citrus. Slice off the very top and bottom of the fruit. Next, cut the peel and outer membrane away from the flesh by standing the fruit on its bottom and carefully run the knife alongside the fruit, cutting away the peel one section at a time. Once you have cut away the peel, slice the citrus into half inch rounds. Alternatively, you can also fully supreme the fruit.

Lay the lettuce leaves down into your serving platter or bowl. If using large leaves of lettuce, slice the lettuce into smaller pieces. Lay the fruit on top of the lettuce. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and fresh mint. Season with a pinch of salt.

In a small bowl, whisk together the pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, honey and salt. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Taste and adjust according to your liking. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and serve.

Spiced Peas with Fresh Mint

Shelling fresh English peas is a therapeutic act. Opening up each pod, and removing the delicately attached bright green peas is incredibly satisfying. Shelling the peas is almost as nice as eating them once they've been shelled. While most frozen things pale in comparison to their fresh counterparts, peas are actually an exception, and they are quite good even when obtained in frozen form. I still prefer fresh peas (for their previous mentioned gift of therapy), but frozen peas are a perfectly good substitute.

Peas are great with butter and salt, in a pasta sauce or risotto, or added to a salad. They don't need much to be wonderful, but if you want to make them the star of your dish, they lend themselves extraordinarily well to traditional Indian spices. 

This is a riff on an Indian recipe I tried at some point but can't remember where/when. I am no Indian cooking expert, so forgive my spice shortcuts, and my inauthentic approach. These peas are lovely served simply on a bed of Basmati rice, and I'm sure they'd be great as a side to a more elaborate meal. I added lots of fresh mint because I love it,  had some, and mint is a friend of peas; but I believe the dish might be even better with fresh cilantro. 

The other thing that should be noted is that you need A LOT of pea pods to get a meager amount of shelled peas. About a pound of fresh peas equaled a cup of shelled peas. That can get pricey, so again, frozen peas are a very good choice if fresh aren't available or are too expensive. 

Spiced Peas with Mint

Serves 4

1.5 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter), or you can use a mixture of butter and olive oil, or coconut oil

2 medium shallots, diced fine

salt and pepper

1 teaspoon Garam Masala

1 teaspoon cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1.5 pounds fresh English peas, shelled (about 1.5 cups)

1/4 cup freshly chopped mint or cilantro or both

In a pan on medium high heat, warm the ghee. Add the shallots to the pan, and season with salt and pepper. Cook the shallots until they start to soften and become translucent, about 2 minutes Add the Garam Masala, cardamom, cumin, and coriander. Continue to cook the shallots with the spices until they begin to caramelize just slightly, but you don't want them to burn or crisp. Add the fresh peas to the pan, and add about a 1/4 cup of water or stock. Once the water is evaporated, and the peas look bright bright green, and are plump and tender, turn off the heat. Add the fresh mint or cilantro.

Serve fresh as a side dish, or on a bed of freshly made Basmati rice!

Goat Cheese Tartine with Cherries and Mint

I can subsist solely on bread and cheese. Good bread and cheese would be ideal, but frankly, I'll accept any form of either. When a great loaf of bread ends up in my kitchen I get inspired to top it with other good things.

A tartine is just the French word for "open-faced sandwich." This tartine came as a result of having an incredible bag of cherries (it's peak cherry season in Bakersfield, CA), a bundle of fresh mint, and some crazy good goat cheese (Artisan Farmstead Goat Cheese from Drake Family Farms - available at the Hollywood farmers' market). 

It's hard to go wrong with good things paired with other complementary good things on top of toasted bread. If it's not cherry season where you are, strawberries or apricots would also work well with goat cheese and mint. If the bread was sliced into small pieces and toasted in the oven, this would make a great appetizer at a dinner party. It's also perfectly wonderful as a lunch for one.

Goat Cheese Tartine with Cherries and Mint

sliced cherries

soft goat cheese

fresh mint, chopped

good bread, sliced 

salt

Toast the bread. Slather with goat cheese. Sprinkle with mint. Top with sliced cherries. Sprinkle with course salt. You could even drizzle this with good olive oil or Balsamic if the mood strikes. Serve immediately.