There is not much to say about this salad—it is as charmingly simple and straightforward as it appears. You could likely just copy it without a recipe. The point I do want to stress, however, is the necessity of making your own salad dressings. There is all sorts of junk in store-bought dressings and they don't taste nearly as fresh—not to mention that it's ridiculously easy to whisk a few things together or put them in a mini blender. This particular dressing hovers around the vinaigrette family, with just enough crème fraîche to coat the leaves with the thinnest amount of creaminess. Be sure your leaves are cleaned and fully dry so the dressing can cling on. The recipe yields enough for the given salads, but I typically double it so I have extra on hand.
Ingredients
Serves 4
House Dressing
Step 1
To make the dressing, whisk together the crème fraîche, olive oil, and honey. Add the scallion, vinegar, salt, and pepper and whisk again. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste, or a touch more vinegar if you prefer your dressing on the acidic side.
Step 2
Gently pull the lettuce leaves from the head, making sure they are dry. Gently toss the leaves and jicama with the dressing. Assemble in a stack on each of 4 plates, starting with the largest leaves on the bottom to create a base. Garnish each salad with a quarter of the pomegranate seeds and the cheese shavings. Serve immediately.
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Reviews (20)
Back to TopI have made this salad for Christmas dinner for the past 10 years - It is the perfect compliment to a big dinner and has the red and green pop that makes it perfect for Christmas!
Ann Morrissey
Bethlehem, PA
12/25/2021
I have made the dressing twice, once a day ahead and once day of. Both Great.
ritajoyholmberg6443
Vancouver, BC
6/10/2020
This is a great dressing, tastes okay on its own but once the entire salad is combined, it really pops! Don’t omit the pomegranate seeds if possible, they add a great crunch. Delicious and super easy.
ritajoyholmberg6443
Vancouver, BC
6/10/2020
Can I make this dressing a day ahead? (sorry if this is a dumb question) I am not very good in the kitchen:)
Anonymous
CT
4/11/2020
Big hit at the holiday pot luck. Doubled dressing and made exactly as listed minus scallion (didn't have). Salad based on what I had on hand: Spinach, baby lettuces, arugula, dill fronds, shredded parmesan, sliced fuyu persimmon, toasted pecans, paper thin sliced red onion. Many compliments!
Anonymous
Sonoma County
12/6/2019
The dressing is spectacular. I modified it by substituting white wine vinegar for the ac vinegar and fresh chives and fresh oregano for the scallions. It’s very similar to a salad dressing that we had at Octavia in San Francisco that was incredible. I’ll try it over the salad as written in the recipe. Tonight, we had it with a butter lettuce, radicchio, cucumber, pear, walnut, arugula salad. Thanks for posting this terrific recipe!
tossanova2500
Portland, OR
4/29/2019
I love this salad as is however I had some fun playing with this recipe and it came out great!! I replaced the apple cider vinegar with Balsamic Raspberry vinegar, used organic strawberries instead of pomegranate seeds and added thinly sliced red bell peppers. It was a huge it.
darz
San Pedro, CA
8/25/2018
This salad is simple, beautiful and fresh. The only recommendation I have is to use store bought creme fraiche. The first time I made my own creme fraiche with ultra -pasteurized whipping cream, and the dressing was thick. When I made the dressing with a quality prepared creme fraiche, the dressing was perfect. Otherwise, it's a beautiful fall winter salad! Going to purchase this cookbook!
ChefGiGiTra
Illinois
12/21/2017
Loved this salad! Couldn't find pomegranates at this time of year, so I used raspberries. Also didn't have creme fraiche so whisked some milk into goat cheese as a substitute. I also added extra honey.
mfoarde
St. Paul, MN
6/2/2015
A nice salad that manages to be unique in flavor but also versatile in pairing with a main course. Dressing is a little on the sweet side, but it's intentional, and it works well with the tart pomegranate and salty asiago.
lschmidt
Portland, OR
1/6/2015
This salad was wonderful! A perfect salad for the autumn weather. I followed the recipe to the letter, then taste tested and added a teaspoon of raw blue agave to sweeten just a tad more. Next time I will double the fresh pomegranate seeds. The dressing was wonderful, just be careful not to overdress the salad. I didn't plate and stack the salad as shown here because I was bringing it to a friend's for dinner. So I mixed the ingredients and then drizzled the dressing after the salads were plated.
fullmooninnapavalley
Napa, CA
10/13/2014
What a great salad! The real star of this salad is the dressing. I will make it again and again!
osprey1
NJ
9/14/2014
I was looking for a less heavy version of a ranch dressing and stumbled on this salad dressing. What a winner!I substituted plain yogurt for the creme fraiche because I happened to have it in the fridge. It was great. Everyone was raving. I will be using this recipe on a regular basis
dominique_waples
Denver CO
7/19/2014
This salad's simplicity is belied by its depth of flavors! The salad dressing...I did sub full fat honey Greek yogurt and a half teaspoon of honey for the creme fraiche and honey components...has just enough sweetness to offset the vinegar and onion and is a great counterpoint to the parmesan/asiago cheese. Apparently, pomegranate is not in season right now, in any form, so I had to use cranberries. I would definitely make this with the original ingredients had they been on hand, but even in my incarnation of the recipe it was superb!
phoov
Waynesville NC... formerly Atlanta
3/16/2014
Made it for a birthday party. Everyone loved it. It was served with lasagne. Normally I would have Ceasar Salad but some of the family don't like Ceasar. I would serve this Adrain. It was easy.
judyhanley
Waltham MA
12/1/2013
