Arugula & Grilled Prawn Salad with Pomegranate Dressing

Barack Obama got ridiculed extensively for his comment on the price of arugula at Whole Foods Market, but somehow, through the cycles of the media, the “elitist” tag was wrongfully tacked onto this simple green instead of the overpriced market chain that doesn’t exist in Iowa.

Arugula is a mustardy salad green that is very easy to grow. When we lived in Kansas, my sister planted a small plot of it in our backyard and it spread like mad. Initially, we ate it with our Vietnamese sizzling crepes, but eventually, the arugula made its way into every single salad we had at home. At one point, the arugula took over the entire garden and we had to pluck most of them out and gave bags of it away to neighbors and friends.

As a kid, I hated arugula because of its mustardy and peppery taste, but I now welcome its complex taste and fine texture. I wanted to experiment more with pomegranate syrup and thought the sweetness of pomegranate would go well with the peppery arugula. It was indeed a match made in heaven! This salad was so good that I could have left out the grilled prawns and still be content.

Arugula & Grilled Prawn Salad with Pomegranate Dressing
(Yields 2 Light Entree Portions)

Salad Ingredients:

• 4 oz fresh baby arugula, washed & dried
• 2 Campari tomatoes, sliced
• 8 prawns, shelled & deveined

Dressing Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp pomegranate syrup
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 tsp mint flakes
• 1 tsp pul biber
• Sea salt & freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• Fine extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ onion, thinly sliced

For the dressing, whisk together all ingredients and then toss with onion. Set aside until ready to serve.

For the prawns, I like to season them with salt, pepper and paprika and then toss them with a bit of olive oil and minced garlic before throwing them on the grill, but you can certainly skip this step. Once you’ve grilled them, halve them lengthwise to top the salad.

Right before serving, toss arugula with dressing and plate. Nestle the wedges of tomato into the arugula and drizzle with leftover dressing. Place hot prawns on top and garnish with a nasturtium blossom.