Pomegranate seeds dazzle like jewels in walnut salad

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February has its perks, namely, today is Valentine's Day, Monday is Presidents Day, and we are in the final few weeks of pomegranates. Let's talk about the pomegranates.

Incredibly refreshing on their own, they can also be a surprising and satisfying addition to a green salad, elevating it to free-standing, second-course status, if not promoting it all the way to dessert.

A pomegranate is something you can just pick up and bite into, even when it's ripe. It comes encased in a hard skin, which must be peeled off. The seeds are the edible part, and they are wrapped in tiny packets of delicious, juicy pulp, like scarlet teardrops. Thus, to eat a pomegranate is automatically a ritual, requiring one to slow down and pay attention. I always consider this a plus.

Here's a lovely way to build a salad around fresh pomegranates. If you serve this with a hearty bean soup and some fresh, thickly sliced pumpernickel bread and open up a bottle of Syrah, all will be well.

MINING THE SEEDS

Pomegranate seeds are juicy little jewels -- bright red, tart and crunchy. The problem is, they're encased in a hard, tight skin, which, although lovely to look at, is difficult to break into.

When you finally get the skin open, another challenge lies inside: The precious seeds are buried within a copious amount of pith, and you have to coax them out. Don't despair. Here's a method that I hope will change your relationship to pomegranates forever.

Have ready a large bowl of cold water. Slice the pomegranate into quarters, right through the skin, with a good, sharp knife. Place the pieces in the water, then pull the pith out and pull the seeds from the pith. Everything will yield quite readily. To make things even easier, the seeds will sink to the bottom of the water and the pith will float to the top.

FREEZING POMEGRANATES

Another nice thing to know about pomegranates is that they freeze very nicely. Just pack whole fruit in a heavy, zip-style plastic bag and store in the freezer. They will keep for a good, long time.