3 medium-sized firm, ripe pears, Bosc, Bartlett or Anjou
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 tablespoons Canadian maple syrup
kosher salt
black pepper
½ cup chopped toasted hazelnuts
2 ounces soft cheese, like gorgonzola
For the salad:
4 cups baby arugula, rinsed
½ head of radicchio, thinly sliced
2 ounces pancetta, diced
For the Dijon vinaigrette:
¼ cup vegetable or walnut oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon maple syrup
juice from ½ a lemon
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Takes ,
serves 6.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Place a handful of hazelnuts onto a parchment-lined baking pan and transfer to oven to toast for 10 minutes. Transfer to a dishtowel and wrap tightly. Rub to remove skins. Roughly chop and reserve.
Prepare pears: Cut pears in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard cores. Place onto parchment-lined baking tray. Melt butter in small pan. Add maple syrup, swirling to combine. Brush tops of pears with butter mixture then add sprinkle of salt and pepper. Transfer to oven and bake until tender, about 15 minutes.
While pears are baking, whisk together vinaigrette ingredients.
Place pancetta in small skillet over moderate heat. Cook, stirring frequently until browned and slightly crispy.
Assemble salad: Spread cheese onto each pear and sprinkle with hazelnuts. Place pears under broiler. Cook until cheese is bubbling and nuts are slightly toasted.
To serve: Toss arugula and radicchio together in a bowl with a drizzle of dressing. Divide onto individual salad plates. Place a roasted pear onto the bed of greens. Sprinkle salads with crispy pancetta. Garnish with another drizzle of the vinaigrette plus a sprinkle of sea salt flakes. Serve immediately.
Roasted Pear Salad
Ingredients
3 medium-sized firm, ripe pears, Bosc, Bartlett or Anjou
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 tablespoons Canadian maple syrup
kosher salt
black pepper
½ cup chopped toasted hazelnuts
2 ounces soft cheese, like gorgonzola
For the salad:
4 cups baby arugula, rinsed
½ head of radicchio, thinly sliced
2 ounces pancetta, diced
For the Dijon vinaigrette:
¼ cup vegetable or walnut oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon maple syrup
juice from ½ a lemon
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Place a handful of hazelnuts onto a parchment-lined baking pan and transfer to oven to toast for 10 minutes. Transfer to a dishtowel and wrap tightly. Rub to remove skins. Roughly chop and reserve.
Prepare pears: Cut pears in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard cores. Place onto parchment-lined baking tray. Melt butter in small pan. Add maple syrup, swirling to combine. Brush tops of pears with butter mixture then add sprinkle of salt and pepper. Transfer to oven and bake until tender, about 15 minutes.
While pears are baking, whisk together vinaigrette ingredients.
Place pancetta in small skillet over moderate heat. Cook, stirring frequently until browned and slightly crispy.
Assemble salad: Spread cheese onto each pear and sprinkle with hazelnuts. Place pears under broiler. Cook until cheese is bubbling and nuts are slightly toasted.
To serve: Toss arugula and radicchio together in a bowl with a drizzle of dressing. Divide onto individual salad plates. Place a roasted pear onto the bed of greens. Sprinkle salads with crispy pancetta. Garnish with another drizzle of the vinaigrette plus a sprinkle of sea salt flakes. Serve immediately.
Roasted Pear Salad
5 / 5. 2
Oven-roasted Ontario pears, served on a bed of arugula and radicchio, topped with gorgonzola, hazelnuts and pancetta…
This ROASTED PEAR SALAD pairs perfectly with your upcoming dinner plans!
Whether you’re serving this for a fancy dinner party or a casual weeknight meal, this very tasty salad recipe is the one to make. You can serve it as a standalone first course or present it paired with a favourite main. Easy to make and bursting with an array of memorable flavours, this ROASTED PEAR SALAD is incredible.
Here are some tips on making this ROASTED PEAR SALAD:
INGREDIENTS
Two things should come to mind as we look at the above photo of the ingredients. Number one: tasty. I mean seriously, when a salad is made with fresh ripe pears, pancetta, a creamy gorgonzola, arugula, radicchio and a tangy vinaigrette, you just know it’ll be amazing. Second thing: I gotta go shopping. We always say that fresh, organic products deliver better flavours. In this case, we’re looking for organically grown salad fixings and pears at the market or grocery store. You’ll also need to head to a delicatessen or specialty meat or cheese store for the pancetta and gorgonzola. More about them down below.
ONTARIO PEARS
The stars of this fresh salad idea are the pears. We’ve tested the salad a few times now using different varieties and found Bosc, Anjou and Bartlett pears to work best. Bosc pears have firm, crisp flesh and a slightly spicy-sweet flavour. Anjou pears are juicy with a mild, sweet flavour. Bartlett pears are incredibly sweet and juicy. Pick your favourite and enjoy. And if you’re looking to use the best pears ever, we suggest ONTARIO PEARS and can vouch for their superior performance in this salad recipe.
NUTS AND CHEESE
We knew a solid approach for this salad recipe would be to pair the pears with ingredients that complement their flavour. The sweetness of the pears contrasts with the sharp taste of a blue cheese or gorgonzola cheese and toasted nuts. For the cheese, we opted for an extra-creamy gorgonzola dolce, adding a soft texture and fragrant bloom when melted on the baked pears. The toasted, chopped hazelnuts give the salad even more buttery flavouring. Nuts plus cheese plus pears equals joy for your tastebuds!
FRESH SALAD
We could have presented the pears on their own dressed up with the cheese and nuts, but this is a salad recipe, after all. So… bring on the greens! That sweet flavour of the pears is perfect with a peppery green like arugula. Then we opted for radicchio over frisée, Boston Bibb lettuce, endive, and baby spinach. A member of the chicory family, the radicchio adds a bold, almost bitter, peppery bite akin to the arugula.
VINAIGRETTE
If this vinaigrette seems familiar, it’s because it mirrors our DIJON VINAIGRETTE. It still has the memorable flavour of grated garlic, lemon juice, and punchy Dijon mustard, but we also added a little sweetness, opting for pure Canadian maple syrup over honey. Just a tiny bit elevates the flavour profile, adding subtle sweetened mustard and garlic notes to this ROASTED PEAR SALAD.
BAKED PEARS
Baking the pears for this recipe is very easy to do. After washing the pears, divide them in half lengthwise, then scoop out the cores—stems can be left on. Next, we brush the cut sides with melted butter and maple syrup plus a sprinkle of kosher salt and black pepper.
Place the pears onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and roast in the oven for 15 minutes.
ADDED TOPPINGS
After removing the pears from the oven, we immediately added a soft cheese to the top of each, plus a sprinkle of chopped, toasted hazelnuts. The pears then went under the broiler to toast until the cheese was melted and bubbling and the hazelnuts toasted. Don’t like hazelnuts? Different variations that worked used walnuts, pecans, pistachios, and almonds.
We also diced up some pancetta, frying it up in a hot skillet until just crispy. It gets sprinkled on the salad, like adding bacon bits but way better!
SERVE
Serving this glorious salad is easy too. Transfer portions of the dressed radicchio and arugula mix to salad plates. Place the roasted pears onto the greens, topping with the crunchy pancetta. Add a little drizzle of extra dressing right before you serve.
PIN IT!
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A stellar ROASTED PEAR SALAD with melted cheese, nuts, and pancetta? Yes, please!
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Ingredients
3 medium-sized firm, ripe pears, Bosc, Bartlett or Anjou
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 tablespoons Canadian maple syrup
kosher salt
black pepper
½ cup chopped toasted hazelnuts
2 ounces soft cheese, like gorgonzola
For the salad:
4 cups baby arugula, rinsed
½ head of radicchio, thinly sliced
2 ounces pancetta, diced
For the Dijon vinaigrette:
¼ cup vegetable or walnut oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon maple syrup
juice from ½ a lemon
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Place a handful of hazelnuts onto a parchment-lined baking pan and transfer to oven to toast for 10 minutes. Transfer to a dishtowel and wrap tightly. Rub to remove skins. Roughly chop and reserve.
Prepare pears: Cut pears in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard cores. Place onto parchment-lined baking tray. Melt butter in small pan. Add maple syrup, swirling to combine. Brush tops of pears with butter mixture then add sprinkle of salt and pepper. Transfer to oven and bake until tender, about 15 minutes.
While pears are baking, whisk together vinaigrette ingredients.
Place pancetta in small skillet over moderate heat. Cook, stirring frequently until browned and slightly crispy.
Assemble salad: Spread cheese onto each pear and sprinkle with hazelnuts. Place pears under broiler. Cook until cheese is bubbling and nuts are slightly toasted.
To serve: Toss arugula and radicchio together in a bowl with a drizzle of dressing. Divide onto individual salad plates. Place a roasted pear onto the bed of greens. Sprinkle salads with crispy pancetta. Garnish with another drizzle of the vinaigrette plus a sprinkle of sea salt flakes. Serve immediately.
Until Halloween
