**FALL RECIPE shared by Sarah Darpinian**

Fall is absolutely my favorite season. Morning walks with a chill in the air, the colors in nature, and making cozy soups & dishes bring so much joy and comfort to the season. Visually, I think it is the most beautiful season not only because of the changing leaves, but also the jewel toned fruits and vegetables like pomegranates and persimmons that become in season. One of my favorite ways to cook is using in season, nourishing ingredients. I created this warm salad years ago using some of my favorite fall harvest elements. I encourage you to source your ingredients from local farms or markets if possible. I hope you enjoy it!

Warm Fall Harvest Salad with bacon vinaigrette: Ingredients:

1 or 2 Fuyu persimmons (or sub apples) 1⁄2 cup of chopped toasted walnuts Goat cheese
Pomegranate seeds

2 pieces bacon or pancetta
One 1lb bag or bunch of your favorite greens (I love spinach & swiss chard!) Pomegranate juice
1 Shallot
Balsamic Vinegar

Method:

Dice persimmons or apples and set aside.
Dice two pieces of bacon or pancetta and cook in a pan until done. Remove, but reserve drippings in a mason jar.
Add a tablespoon of drippings back to the pan and saute chopped shallot. Remove & reserve. Put a few tablespoons of bacon drippings, 2 Tb. pomegranate juice and 1 Tb. balsamic vinegar in the pan and whisk to make dressing.
Add the greens to dressing and cook until very lightly wilted and coated with dressing. This won’t take long.
Transfer to a serving bowl and top greens with persimmons & walnuts. Add pomegranate seeds and goat cheese. Finish with sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

* Can be made vegetarian or vegan. Just skip the bacon and add olive oil to saute shallot and make dressing. Skip goat cheese also to make vegan and add roasted beets or your favorite fall veggies.

FALL HARVEST RECIPE