Turkish Chopped Salad With Arils

POM Dressing:

Prepare fresh pomegranate juice, if necessary.* Put the pomegranate juice in a stainless steel saucepan and cook over medium-low heat until reduced to 1/4 cup. (This reduction will keep several weeks in the refrigerator in a clean, covered container.) Combine red wine vinegar, 3 tablespoons of pomegranate reduction, shallots, kosher salt and pepper; whisk until the salt is dissolved. Slowly add the oil as you continue to whisk. If it separates, just re-whisk before dressing the greens. This can be made and refrigerated ahead of time.

Turkish Chopped Salad with Arils:

Prepare fresh pomegranate arils, if necessary.** Reserve 3/4 cup of the arils from fruit and set aside. (Refrigerate or freeze remaining arils for another use.) Finely dice the tomatoes, cucumber, chiles and bell pepper. Combine in a bowl with parsley and mint and dress with the POM dressing. Garnish the salad with the crumbled cheese and fresh pomegranate arils. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve this pomegranate recipe with warm pita or flat bread.

*To prepare fresh pomegranate juice, cut 2–3 large POM Wonderful Pomegranates in half and juice them with a citrus reamer or juicer. Pour the mixture through a cheesecloth-lined strainer or sieve. Set the juice aside.

**To prepare fresh arils, score 1 large POM Wonderful Pomegranate and place in a bowl of water.  Break open the pomegranate under water to free the arils (seed sacs).  The arils will sink to the bottom of the bowl and the membrane will float to the top.  Sieve and put the arils in a separate bowl.