Chopped Vegetable Salad with Pomegranate

By Leite's Culinaria

Ingredients

1 pound (about 2 cups) plum tomatoes (seeded and finely chopped)
Kosher salt
1 small red onion (minced, or 1/2 cup finely chopped scallions, mostly the white part)
1 3 oz (about 1 cup) Persian cucumber (halved, seeded, and diced small, or 1/2 large English cucumber)
1 small (about 1/2 cup) green bell pepper (stemmed, seeded, and diced small)
4 to 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
1/2 cup (3 oz) pomegranate seeds (about 1/2 pomegranate)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh spearmint leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon Maras or Aleppo pepper
Freshly ground black pepper
8 romaine lettuce leaves (torn into large pieces (optional))

Prep Time30mins
Servings4

Instructions

Place the tomatoes in a fine sieve over a bowl and add 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Stir and let the water drain from the tomatoes for about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the onion, cucumber, green bell pepper, 4 tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, pomegranate seeds, parsley, mint, dill, and Maras pepper. Stir in the drained tomatoes. Taste, season with salt and pepper, and stir in the additional 2 tablespoons olive oil, if desired.

Serve at room temperature or chilled with the romaine leaves to scoop up the salad, if desired. The salad is best eaten the day it's made but it can be covered and stored overnight in the refrigerator.