winter salad

Today I decided to make this salad.  I came across the recipe at Smitten Kitchen a few days ago, and it mainly caught my eye because of the prosciutto.  I love it when a recipe calls for prosciutto, because then I have an excuse to buy it and have it in the house.  But this is so much more than prosciutto.  It is the perfect winter salad.

Fennel, Prosciutto and Pomegranate Salad
Adapted from Bon Appetit, November 2008

Serves 4 to 6

2 cups very thinly sliced fennel bulb
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
6 cups arugula (about 4 ounces)
1 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup thinly sliced mint leaves
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
6 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, torn into strips
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

Toss fennel and 1 tablespoon olive oil in medium bowl. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Combine arugula, green onions, mint, vinegar, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in large bowl; toss. Season with salt and pepper.

Divide greens among plates. Top with fennel, then drape with prosciutto. Sprinkle pomegranate seeds over.

I basically halved the recipe and ended up with about two servings (both of which I ate, oh yum). I also went light on the fennel, primarily because I'd never eaten it before and it frightened me. The most time consuming part of the process by far was the pomegranate (I used instructions found here), so if you plan to whip this up for a party, I would definitely do that part way in advance. The fennel can also be done in advance.  I also used an aged balsamic vinegar because I like a strong vinegary taste, and I really loved how it worked with all the other elements here.

This afternoon, I also decided to make a batch of Nutella Pinwhell Cookies. On the down side, the recipe was wrought with misfortune and took me about a million years from start to finish. On the up side, the cookies are delicious and I now know how to shell and roast hazelnuts! Yay.