Pomegranates are power fruits, they spice up every salad. In this recipe, you use pomegranate syrup instead of the fresh seeds, so you avoid the annoying pitting of the pomegranate. This exotic oriental salad – together with flatbread and hummus – is a great summer entree.

In itself, the pitting of pomegranates is not that difficult. If you know how to do it. From my experience, it works best “under water”: halve the pomegranate crosswise, and gut the seeds in a large bowl of water. The kernels sink to the ground, the white skins swim up. Very easily.

Of course, if you want, you can still add fresh pomegranate seeds over the finished salad. But the dressing has already a wonderful aroma by the pomegranate syrup.

Speaking of flavor: Basically, I’m of the opinion that you should play with all ingredient lists and give your own creativity free space. But, one ingredient in this recipe is essential: sumac – a spice of Turkish, Syrian and Lebanese cuisine, also called vinegar berry. It is a dried stone fruit whose taste is characterized by its slightly sour, fruity and tart note.

You really should use this spice for the pomegranate dressing, it can not be replaced by anything else. And do not worry that you could not use up your sumac: Try raw onions with plenty of sumac to your next grilled meat. Typically Turkish and delicious!

Here you’ll find my recipe for Hummus.