Pomegranate dressing

I don't have any pre-made salad dressings in my fridge. In fact, I haven't for years. If you have some oil, a bit of vinegar and maybe some mustard, it's all you need to whip up a great tasting salad topper any time you want. Why spend money on those bottles of chemicals?

We had this dressing at Christmas as part of our non-traditional dinner (well, non-traditional for us in that it featured roast beef instead of turkey). It was a bit different, festively pretty and even fun to make.

Start by de-seeding a pomegrante. A new tip I learned from Nigella is to separate the seeds under water. It works well, and avoids all those squirts of red juice from landing all over your clothes, walls and white cupboard doors. The seeds end up sinking to the bottom of the bowl, and the white pithy parts float to the top, making for easy removal. Cool, huh?

Then pop the seeds in the blender with the oil and lemon juice and puree until almost smooth.

Next, strain out all the seedy bits.

And you're left with a smooth, tart and refreshing vinagrette. I made this day in advance and it kept well in a jar. Just shake it a bit before you dress your greens.

Pomegranate dressing
By Laura Calder (as seen on the Food Network)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups pomegranate seeds
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon lemon
salt and pepper

Directions
1.Place 1 cup of pomegranate seeds, olive oil and lemon in a blender. Pulse until ingredients are pureed. Strain through a fine sieve. Season with salt and pepper. Toss with mache and Belgian endive.