A colorful salad with a spicy peppermint vinaigrette.

Nutrition and Beauty | Katerina Kyriakou | Friday, February 12th, 2010 at 10:11

ermoumag ermou salatamediosmo A colorful salad with a spicy peppermint vinaigrette.

A recipe by Vicki Koumantou published in TasteFULL.gr

Ingredients

For the salad:

1 lettuce or 2 french salads
1 chicory or 1 radicchio
1 cup pomegranate
3 green onions cut in rings

For the dressing:

3 tablespoons mild mustard
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon dried peppermint
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Put mustard, honey and vinegar in a bowl. By stirring softly add extra virgin olive oil. Add peppermint and then salt and pepper (You can keep this vinegraitte in the refrigerator for one week).
Wash, dry and cut the vegetables with your hands in bite size pieces. Halve the pomegranate, and then bash out the seeds.
Put vegetables, fresh onions and seeds from the one half of the pomegranate in a bowl. Right before serving, add the vinegraitte and the rest of pomegranate seeds. Mix and serve.

NUTRITIONAL COMMENT:

The winter ingredients make up a colorful, yet nutritious salad. Besides the colors, this specific recipe combines the sweet taste of honey, with the slight bitterness of the chicory, the spicy of the mustard and the peppermint aroma creating an original and delicious combination.

As for the nutritional value of the vegetables, which are the basis of the salad, lettuce is rich in antioxidant vitamins A, C, folate, manganese and chromium. The endive is rich in vitamins B1, B2, carotenoids and minerals, such as potassium, sodium, phosphorus and magnesium. These greens are known from ancient times, when they were referred to as “friend of the liver”. Nowadays, clinical studies have shown that they actually contain an ingredient with liver-protective properties. Pomegranate is an excellent food containing high amounts of vitamins C, D, E, and phytochemicals tannins and anthocyanins. Compared to wine and green tea, pomegranate is three times stronger as far as its antioxidant properties are concerned. Finally, green onions contain the flavonoids flavones and anthocyanins, known for their antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiallergic and anticancer properties.

Besides vegetables, this recipe bases its nutritional value on the vinaigrette. Mustard is an ingredient that comes with and gives flavor to a meal without charging it with extra calories. A teaspoon of mustard gives only 5 calories, contains no fat and so does not harm the cardiovascular system. Peppermint, except from its wonderful aroma, it is known for its anti-inflammatory and soothing properties. Finally, honey contains many vitamins – B2, B6, C, D, E, folic acid- as well as antioxidants. It is known from ancient times for its antibacterial, antiseptic and toning properties.

As its creator –Vicki Koumantou- points out: ”as simple as it may seem, it is a salad that will make sense to your table”, but also to… your body!