November may not be peak season for pineapple, but fortunately we can still find it, and quite often on sale.

You know I am in the business of healthy recipes. But since festivities are approaching, I’m focused on it all the more! I like to provide recipes for salad that are fresh, tasty and healthy, but also help drain our digestive system ! Do you want to stop feeling heavy and bloated? Add a bunch of fibers! And what better than arugula and pineapple to do that?

Here is the refreshing salad that fills up our sweet cravings, lightens digestion and slows down the sugar rush in our blood stream. Bonus: it is very refreshing!

Why You Will Love this salad

This refreshing salad has a sweet and savory flavor profile, is one of those salad recipes that got me a “wow! ” exclamation from my husband the first time I made it for him. That makes me think what I had placed in the “flavorful salads” category in my mind should now move under the “great salads” tab. For one thing, it is contains a cruciferous vegetable, arugula, that has lots of fibers but is also associated with prevention of disease like cancer, may provide cardiovascular benefits, immune boosting and antioxydants benefits, and more. As for fresh Pineapple, besides containing high levels of Vitamin C, it is also renowned for its digestive benefits, among others. But if this salad is great on a nutritional standpoint, it’s also DELICIOUS!

Perfect consistency

You will enjoy the sweetness of the pineapple, the strong taste arugula, the softness of cheese, the crunch of walnuts, and the bite of green or red onion. But best of all is the slight joyful bite the the olive and black seed oils and cumin dressing provides!

The secret : Black Seed Oil

The secret of the dressing? Nutmeg and black seed oil or black cumin oil. Black seed oil gives this salad its best flavor, the one that will surprise your taste buds! It’s a oil with a strong cumin taste, with a spicy, stingy twist! It counterbalances the sweetness of pineapple. Best of all: it’s extra healthy. It is one of the oils with the best healthy fat ratio.

As a 2022 study on best ways to preserve black seed oil starts from the following statement:

Many clinical and experimental studies have indicated that the black seed and their by-products can be used to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, chronic cancer, diabetes, oxidative stress, polycystic ovary syndrome, metabolic disorders, hypertension, asthma, and skin disorders.

Is it really Seed oil free?

YES

I define as “seed oil free” meals that do not contain highly processed oils like the oils of peanut, corn, safflower, sunflower, “pure” olive oil ( tasteless olive oil) and canola oil. I only use cold pressed or expeller pressed oil canola oil for their omega 3 and Vitamin E contents.

Black seed oil is a seed oil too, but as in hemp seed oil, flax oil and canola oil, the important is that they are cold pressed to preserve healthy fats.

What this salad is not

This salad is not a desert type fresh fruit salad recipe. It is a particular, a bit more unique salad: savory with sweet flavors.

Although I love them too, this one is not a South West recipe with red bell pepper, cilantro, lime juice and spicy taste of jalapeno. Nor is it a thai recipe. 

Ingredients needed for this salad

• Sweet pineapple, fresh;
• Extra virgin olive oil;
• Black seeds oil (at your health store);
• Ground Nutmeg;
• Optional: walnut oil OR organic cold pressed/expeller pressed canola oil (for omega 3). If you own none of them, replace of olive oil. You can find it at your health store and increasing number of supermarket with a healthy oil lane.
• Sheep cheese (a better dairy option for cow’s dairy sensitive people)
• Green onion or red onion.

Additional ingredients, as options:

• Fresh sprouts
• Cubed cucumber
• A ripe avocado

How to make the salad:

This is a very quick salad to make, and very easy to assemble:

Measure the 3 cups or hand fulls of arugula and 3 cups of pineapple, and add them to a large bowl;

Cut and dice 60 grams of a soft sheep cheese like Manchego and add to the salad;

Using a small pan on low heat, lightly roast the walnuts for about 5 minutes. You don’t want to burn them or heat them too much, you would damage their omega 3! When cooled down, add to the serving bowl;

Then Cut the green onion, green and white parts (3 green onions);

Make the pineapple salad dressing with 1/3 vinegar and 2/3 oils. That allows the arugula not to wilt too fast and remain crunchy, and for the flavors of the spices not to be overpowered by the vinegar;

Pour the dressing 5 minutes before serving and mix!

Tips: 

– Chose a ripe pineapple. Just pull a leaf off the top and if it goes off, the pineapple is ripe.

– I give you quantities for arugula and pineapple, but in practice, I play it by ear. You may like it with more pineapple, or with more arugula and more fruit. it’s up to you. It think as a rule, using the same volume for each pineapple and arugula is a good measure.

– If you don’t have black seed oil, add 1 tsp cumin more to the dressing.

Alternative ingredients:

You can add cucumber to give the salad some additional summer flair, if you want.

Try with a few spoon fulls of sprouts ! It add more crunch, and a bunch of highly bioavailable nutrients for vitality!

Replace pineapple with peach in the summer ! I honestly love making this salad both ways, with the same dressing. Both fruits pair well with the little sting of nutmeg and black seed oil, cheese and walnuts.

You can replace cheese with avocado, which will give a soften texture to it. So long as you have the crunch of walnuts, it will work well.

If you don’t have nutmeg or don’t like it, you can add 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes in the dressing instead, or just skip it.

Now to the recipe ! Enjoy!

Other salads I like in the fall: 

Pear salad with grenadine dressing

Brussels sprouts salad with apple and ham, and old style mustard dressing

Kale lemony salad

Other fall dishes:

Fall Savoy Apple and Butternut Steam & Stir Fry

Steamed Brussels sprouts & Butternut stir fry