Cabbage salad with mint and pomegranate

This salad is so pretty: pale cabbage with shiny ruby pomegranate seeds glinting among the bright green mint.

SERVES 4

1 tbsp chopped fresh mint

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

450g (1lb) white cabbage, coarsely grated or finely shredded

1 pomegranate

3–4 sprigs of mint, to garnish

Put the chopped mint, honey, vinegar, oil and some salt and pepper into a large bowl and mix together to form a dressing.

Add the cabbage and mix thoroughly, so that it gets well coated with the sweet herb dressing.

Leave for at least 1 hour, so that the cabbage softens a little and absorbs all the flavours.

Just before you want to serve the salad, cut the pomegranate in two and, holding one half over a plate to catch the juice, bend the fruit backwards to make the seeds pop out, helped as necessary with the point of a sharp knife.

Add the pomegranate juice to the salad, and stir in some of the seeds. Then tip the salad out on to a large flat plate and decorate with the mint sprigs and remaining pomegranate seeds. Serve as soon as possible, while the pomegranate is bright and sparkling.

VARIATION