Name: Feta and Avocado Salad with Quick Pickled Red Onion and Pomegranate Seeds
Prep time: 5 min
Ingredients: ½ red onion, peeled and finely sliced; 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar; 200g – 250g feta cheese; 1 ripe avocado, peeled, stone removed and sliced; 2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds; ½ teaspoon nigella seeds or black mustard seeds; 1 – 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; freshly ground black pepper, to taste; sea salt, to taste; fresh rocket leaves (arugula); fresh flat or sour dough bread

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The combination of salty feta, creamy avocado, tangy onions and sweet pomegranate seeds is utterly fabulous. The drizzle of olive oil adds richness, while the black mustard seeds and fresh rocket add freshness and provide a hint of spice. If you are looking for a quick and satisfying lunch or a delightful starter, this dish could be your ideal solution!

Where is this recipe from?

This Nigella recipe landed in my inbox a couple of days ago. I had all the ingredients in the fridge, so made it immediately for my lunch. Nigella is known for her flavourful and approachable recipes, and this one is no exception. It is so unbelievably simple to make yet full of contrasting, yet harmonious, flavours and textures.

Sometimes the best dishes come together effortlessly. indeed this one requires such little effort, it really does not even need a recipe – a simple list of ingredients will suffice. I didn’t weigh anything, just built the food up on the plates, by eye. For ease however, I have attached the quantities Nigella recommends for 2 people, but feel free to adjust according to taste. Recipes rarely come simpler or as tasty – the only challenging thing is to remember to steep the red onion ahead of time.

Please see here for the original recipe, which is featured on-line and in ‘Simply Nigella’.

How to make Feta and Avocado Salad with Quick Pickled Onions and Pomegranate Seeds

NB – You need to start making this recipe a minimum of 20 minutes, but preferably at least 2 hours, before you want to eat the salad.

Collect all your ingredients together:

red onion, peeled and finely sliced
red wine vinegar
feta cheese
ripe avocado, peeled, stone removed and sliced
pomegranate seeds
nigella seeds or black mustard seeds
extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
sea salt, to taste

To serve:

a few rocket leaves (also known as arugula)
fresh flat or sour dough bread

Now make this delicious salad:

An absolute minimum of 20 minutes, but preferably at least 2 hours, before you want to eat the salad, peel and thinly slice the red onion. Place in a small, non-metallic mixing bowl and pour over the vinegar. Give the onion a stir, cover and set aside.
When you are ready to eat, simply break up the feta directly onto serving plates. Peel, remove the stone and slice the avocado and add to the plates.
Scatter over some onion, (you may not need it all) and season with freshly ground black pepper and some sea salt, to taste. Bear in mind that feta cheese can be quite salty, so go easy on the salt – indeed, you may not need any at all.
Sprinkle over the black onion or nigella seeds, some fresh rocket leaves and drizzle on some good quality extra virgin olive oil.
Serve straight away with some extra rocket and warm fresh flatbreads or sour dough on the side.
NB Store any remaining pickled onion in a sealed jar, in the fridge, for up to 2 days.

Made this recipe?

If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodil_kitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.