Persian Rocca Salad

Rocca Salad is a tasty mix of arugula (rocket) with walnuts, pomegranate and a Persian dressing. It's a delicious salad with a Middle Eastern flavor. 

You will absolutely love the fresh flavor of this easy Rocca Salad.

Rocket / Arugula leaves provide a zingy bed for walnuts, pomegranate seeds and a zesty Persian dressing.

The salad and dressing both come together in just a few minutes! It's a vibrant and flavorful salad with pomegranate, walnut, onion, cucumber and more.

Enjoy this rocket salad as a side dish, light lunch or make it a healthy main dish.

You'll also love some of my other tasty vegan salad recipes: green salad with pepita dressing, mango salad and beet salad with tahini dressing!

This recipe is vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and soy-free.

Ingredients

For the dressing:
Oil (extra virgin olive oil is my favourite, but use what you have)
Apple cider vinegar (or try white or red wine vinegar)
Pomegranate molasses (also known as pomegranate concentrate, found in most major grocery stores. You can't substitute standard molasses as it is a very different taste. If you can't get any, just leave it out.)
Maple syrup (or agave nectar, or honey if not vegan)

For the salad:
Arugula / Rocket (or use other lettuce)
Cucumber
Red onion (or white/yellow onion)
Tomatoes
Fresh mint
Walnuts
Parsley
Pomegranate arils (aka pomegranate seeds)

How to make Rocca Salad

This salad is super easy to make! Just follow these simple steps, then scroll down for the full recipe in the recipe card!

1. Toast the walnuts in a dry frying pan. You can skip this step, but briefly toasting the walnuts makes them extra tasty and fragrant. It only takes a few minutes so watch the walnuts so they don't burn.

2. Place half of the walnuts into a mini food processor or blender, along with the rest of the dressing ingredients (scroll down for full recipe) and whiz. It will still be a bit chunky. 

3. Toss all the salad ingredients together in a large bowl. 

4. Divide the salads onto plates, drizzle with a little dressing and sprinkle with the walnuts, pomegranate seeds and fresh herbs. 

Scroll down for the full recipe ingredients and instructions.

Serving Suggestions

This Rocca Salad is delicious on its own. You can make it a heartier by serving it with these tasty meat-free recipes:

This salad is perfect with my Persian Fesenjan. It's a walnut stew with cauliflower and is a great way to also use up the pomegranate molasses! Also try my Persian Eggplant Salad. 

Rainbow Vegetable Sandwich
Tomato Soup
Pea Soup
Vegan Tuna Salad Sandwich

Persian dressing

This simple green rocket salad is enlivened with Persian flavors. 

The Middle Eastern dressing makes use of pomegranate molasses (aka pomegranate concentrate). It's pomegranate juice that's been reduced into a thick sauce.

What does Pomegranate Molasses taste like? 

Pomegranate molasses is very different to typical molasses. It's a thick syrup that's made from boiling pomegranate juice to reduce it.

The resulting syrup has concentrated sweet and sour flavors. It's got a really deep taste that adds intense flavors to many dishes.

In this rocca salad, the pomegranate molasses is whizzed with toasted walnuts, maple syrup, oil and apple cider vinegar to create an intense and vibrant dressing that complements the arugula leaves beautifully. I hope you'll love this salad and Persian dressing as much as we do!

Arugula salad on wooden background

Rocca, Arugula, Rocket, Roka

Whether you call them rocca, roka, arugula or rocket, you'll know and love these peppery leaves. The slightly bitter flavor makes them perfect for enlivening a salad.

The young tender leaves have a sweeter, nuttier flavor, but as they grow they take on a deep peppery taste.

Rocca can be grown easily year-round and it's a quick-growing crop.

Try sowing some seeds on a sunny windowsill and harvest them as a cut-and-come-again crop. Just cut off what you require as soon as the leaves are large enough.

Leave the plants to grow some more and you will have leaves for weeks. They're perfect in this tasty rocca salad.

Can this recipe be prepped ahead of time?

You can chop the veggies and make the dressing ahead of time.

But for best results (and so you don't get a soggy salad!) don't assemble and dress the rocca salad until just before serving.

Then just put it all together and enjoy!

Looking for more salad inspiration? Check out my list of the BEST vegan salad recipes. 

Get the Rocca Salad recipe

Did you make this Persian Rocca Salad recipe? Please let me know how it turned out for you!
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📖 Recipe

Persian Rocca Salad

Kate Hackworthy | Veggie Desserts

Rocca Salad is a tasty mix of arugula (rocket) with walnuts, pomegranate and a Persian dressing. It's a delicious salad with a Middle Eastern flavor.

5 from 9 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Course Salad

Cuisine Middle Eastern, Persian

Servings 4

Calories 233 kcal

Equipment

• Frying pan
• Bowl
• Mini food processor or blender

Ingredients

 

• ½ cup (50g) walnuts
• 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses (aka pomegranate concentrate)
• 2 teaspoon maple syrup
• Rocket arugula and other lettuce leaves
• ½ a cucumber unpeeled and diced
• 2 tomatoes diced
• ½ red onion finely chopped
• Handful fresh mint leaves chopped

Optional garnish:

• pomegranate seeds
• chopped parsely

Instructions

 

For the dressing

• Heat a dry frying pan, add the walnuts and toast for a few minutes until fragrant and golden.
• Place half of the toasted walnuts into a mini food processor along with the oil, vinegar, pomegranate molasses and syrup. Whiz until combined. It will be slightly chunky.

For the salad

• Gently toss the rest of the salad ingredients together in a large bowl.

To serve

• Divide the salad onto plates and serve drizzled with the dressing and sprinkled with the remaining walnuts, plus parsley and pomegranate seeds.

Notes

If you can't find pomegranate molasses (it's in many major grocery stores), then just leave it out. You can't substitute regular molasses or drinking pomegranate juice.

Nutrition

Calories: 233kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 3gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 7mgPotassium: 281mgFiber: 2gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 539IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 33mgIron: 1mg

The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors, so is not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietician for special diet advice.

Tried this recipe?Mention @kateveggiedesserts or tag #veggiedesserts! I love seeing your recreations.