Persimmon, pomegranate and dukkah salad

Normally I'm not a huge fan of fruit in salad. This combination is one of my exceptions to that rule. The sweet persimmon, sour pomegranate and salty spiced dukkah just work so well together... trust me, you are going to want to try this! Even if you're not a fan of fruit in salad either.

I love a good autumnal salad. It's so good to get your fill of veggies quickly in one hit. A lot of the time there's a fair bit of cooking involved though, roasting root vegetable etc. But this recipe only requires a quick bit of cous cous boiling and nut toasting, and then you are good to go - easy!

You could easily make this salad gluten-free by swapping out the cous cous for quinoa. And not into dairy? Swap the feta out for your favourite cashew cheese. And for the meat eaters out there, a rare lamb loin thinly sliced would be such a treat.

Try this:

Salad ingredients

2/3 cup Israeli cous cous (cooked, drained and cooled)

1 large persimmon

1/2 cup pomegranate arils

120gm feta (I used Food Snob crumbly feta)

1 bag rocket leaves

40gm pistachios

A handful of fresh mint leaves

2 Tbsp dukkah

Dressing ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil

1 Tbsp pomegranate molasses

2 tsp honey

Juice from half a lemon

1 tsp wholegrain mustard

Salt and pepper

Serves 4 as a side or 2 as light meal. Heat oven to 160c, spread the whole pistachios on a baking tray, and bake for 7-10 minutes until they are lightly toasted. Leave to cool and then roughly chop. Boil the cous cous according to packet instructions, drain and leave to cool.

Make the dressing by combining all of the ingredients together in a jar. Screw the lid on tightly and give it a really good shake. I sometimes give my honey a quick blast in the microwave to ensure it is suitably 'liquid' and will incorporate easily into the dressing. Test the dressing for seasoning, then set it aside.

Use a large flat platter to arrange your salad on, and start by spreading out all of the rocket over the platter, leaving a small space around the edge. Evenly sprinkle the cooked cous cous over the rocket. Then arrange the slices of persimmon (I like the skin on, but you can peel it first if you prefer). Top with pieces of crumbled cheese, a sprinkle of pomegranate arils, and the mint leaves.

Add the chopped nuts over the salad, then using a spoon, sprinkle the dukkah onto the pieces of persimmon. At this point you can cover the salad and set it aside for a bit until you're ready to serve it.

When you're ready to eat, give the dressing a good shake again, then spoon it over the salad, and enjoy!