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Home » Salad » Pomegranate steak salad from Persiana

Modified: Dec 1, 2022 by Vee

Pomegranate steak salad from Persiana

Pomegranate steak salad, recipe from the Persiana Cookbook

"This is, hands-down, one of the most popular dishes in my entire repertoire,"  Sabrina Ghayour says when describing her "Pomegranate Beef" recipe in her cookbook, Persiana. 

I have to agree. It's probably from the combination of bold flavors: meaty steak, peppery arugula, and a sweet-tart dressing.

This salad is ready to eat in 15 minutes (thanks to a quick-sear on thin-cut strips of steak), and comes in under 600 calories.

If you like it, you'll probably enjoy the rest of the Persiana cookbook.

Jump to:
  • Pomegranate steak salad
  • Nutrition: an in-depth look
  • Recipe Notes
  • Round out the meal

Pomegranate steak salad

adapted from Persiana Cookbook
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Prep Time5 mins
Total Time12 mins
Calories584
Servings2
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Ingredients
  

Salad

  • ¾ lb steak flank, sirloin or hanger steak
  • 1 Tbs oil
  • sea salt
  • pepper
  • 10 ounces arugula
  • ½ cup pomegranate seeds

Dressing

  • ½ cup pomegranate molasses
  • 2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • 2 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

PREP

  • This comes together fast, so it's actually important to get everything out on your counter and ready:
  • A cast iron skillet or heavy bottom pan, tongs, a cutting board to slice up the meat after it cooks, a mixing bowl for the dressing, a whisk, measuring cups & spoons, and all ingredients.

PREP & SEAR STEAK

  • Heat a cast iron or heavy bottom pan on high heat. Rub steak with sea salt (or kosher salt) and pepper.
  • Add oil to the hot pan, then add steak to the hot oil. Sear for about 3 minutes per side (or more for a thick steak). When it's done, set aside on cutting board and let rest for a few minutes.

MAKE DRESSING WHILE STEAK COOKS

  • Whisk the pomegranate molasses, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and mustard together in a mixing bowl (or shake together in a jar). Add salt and pepper to taste.

SLICE & SERVE

  • Slice the steak. Place on a bed of arugula. Drizzle with dressing and top with pomegranate seeds.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Pomegranate steak salad
Serving Size
 
1 g
Amount per Serving
Calories
584
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
30
g
46
%
Saturated Fat
 
8
g
50
%
Cholesterol
 
116
mg
39
%
Sodium
 
706
mg
31
%
Carbohydrates
 
38
g
13
%
Fiber
 
5
g
21
%
Sugar
 
22
g
24
%
Protein
 
42
g
84
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Nutrition: an in-depth look

This steak salad is quick and easy, but a little high in sugar. While I love this salad with all of the dressing, reducing the pomegranate molasses by half cuts out 5g of sugar and 61 calories.

Below is a table of calories and sugar per serving, broken down by ingredient.

INGREDIENTCALORIESSUGAR (g)
steak2810
oil300
arugula353g
pomegranate seeds366g
DRESSING
pomegranate molasses12211g
balsamic vinegar142g
olive oil600
dijon mustard4
TOTAL:58422g (13 added)

Recipe Notes

  • Seeding a pomegranate. When I want this to be a very fast dinner, I buy a package of pomegranate arils (seeds). But when you have fresh pomegranates, there are a few tricks to seed them. This video shows 2 methods: hitting a cut pomegranate with a wooden spoon, and another method to submerge it in water. I like the submersion method.
  • The pomegranate produce guide explains how to pick out fresh pomegranates as well as buying just the seeds from the store.
  • Choosing the right steak. For this recipe you want a steak that is thin, cooks fast, and is tender with minimal cooking time. Here's a list of cuts that are good for grilling, which is similar to the high-heat cast iron method we use for this recipe.
  • Sugar. This recipe has more added sugar than a normal dinner - 13 grams. The recommended daily value of added sugar is about 20-26g, and for comparison a regular soft drink is about 39g.

Round out the meal

This steak salad can be a meal in itself, however you can make it a side salad to pair with a good bowl of soup, like a celeriac (celery root) soup or roasted cauliflower soup. You could also cut back on the amount of steak per serving and add farro or bulgur wheat to the salad.

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