Pomegranate Orange Salad

As the weather turns cooler, and pomegranates and citrus come into season, I turn to my favorite salad which combines both.  A base of baby spinach, a sprinkle of feta cheese and a drizzle of a pomegranate orange vinaigrette completes the salad.

I was surprised by how light colored the arils were of the pomegranate I bought at Outpost last weekend.  As a pomegranate ripens, the arils fill with juice and become plump, which got me wondering, how do you know when a pomegranate is ripe? 

Here's what I found online - "The unripe fruit is exactly round in shape like apple. When ripe, the round shape is changed with the sides slightly become square. This happens due to the arils pressing against the outer wall as they reach maximum juice content."

 

Until discovering Oro di Oliva (a local oil and vinegar shop), I had no idea how good salad dressing could be and I purchased all dressings at the grocery store.  With the exception of ranch, which I haven't found a good homemade substitute for, I now prefer to make salad dressing at home.

My standard vinaigrette ratio is to combine a 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar and a 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard, which makes enough for two salads.  In this case, I used blood orange olive oil and pomegranate balsamic vinegar, but a standard balsamic vinaigrette would also work well with this salad.