- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 3/4 cup pomegranate seeds (from about 1/2 large pomegranate)
- 3/4 cup Castelvetrano olives, pitted, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
- 2 cups basmati rice
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 10 mint sprigs
- 8 ounces feta, sliced 1/4″ thick
- Pomegranate molasses can be found at Middle Eastern markets, some supermarkets, and online.
- Place a rack in upper third of oven; preheat to 350°F. Toast walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing once, until golden brown, 5–8 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop. Increase oven temperature to 450°F.
- Toss walnuts, pomegranate seeds, olives, oil, mint, parsley, pomegranate molasses, and garlic in a medium bowl to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
- Combine rice, butter, and salt in a 13×9″ baking dish, then pour in a scant 3 1/2 cups water; top with mint sprigs. Cover tightly with foil and bake until rice is tender and water is absorbed, 30–35 minutes. Remove from oven; pluck out mint. Fluff rice with a fork.
- Heat broiler. Arrange feta over rice. Broil until rice around edges of pan is browned and crisp and feta is starting to brown, 8–10 minutes. Spoon pomegranate relish over.