We love when our customers share their favorite creations and let us pass on good ideas for healthy, tasty dishes. Kelly emailed this idea to us, we tried it, and it’s a winner. The pears are roasted in a light coating of olive oil but that’s it for the oil. Pineapple balsamic vinegar is all she used as the dressing to finish the salad – surprisingly tasty. As much as we wanted to use a flavored olive oil for the pears, we stayed true to Kelly’s recipe and used one of our single varietal extra virgin olive oils and it paid off! We could really taste the pear flavor the roasting process brought out in each bite-sized piece. Placing the empty baking sheet inside the preheating oven gave a nice searing of the fruit as soon as they hit the pan. We used arugula but any mixed greens will do. Kelly’s friend calls this “dessert in a salad bowl”. We call it a delicious, healthy, easy recipe with only a few ingredients. Thank you Kelly!
INGREDIENTS
- 3 ripe pears, cut to ¾-inch dice
- 1 tablespoon Olive This! Single Varietal EVOO
- 3 tablespoons Olive This! Pineapple Balsamic
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
- 4-5 cups arugula or any mixed greens
- 1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Adjust oven rack to middle position. Place a rimmed baking sheet on center rack. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Dice the pears into bite-sized pieces, keeping in mind the pieces will shrink slightly when roasted (cut to about a ¾-inch dice)
Place diced pears into a medium bowl and sprinkle with about ¼ teaspoon salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Drizzle with the one tablespoon of olive oil and toss until the pears are well coated.
Transfer pears to preheated baking pan and spread out into a single layer. Roast in oven for about 15-20 minutes (depending on how charred you like your fruit). Toss pears 2-3 times during roasting time.
If adding pine nuts to the salad, toast them in a dry skillet over low heat for about 5-7 minutes while the pears are roasting. Flip the nuts occasionally. Set aside to cool.
When the pears are done, remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet. Set aside.
Once the pine nuts and pears are cool (or still slightly warm), add the salad greens to a large bowl. Add the ½ cup of Gorgonzola cheese, optional pine nuts and roasted pears. Drizzle with the 3 tablespoons of pineapple balsamic.
Toss the salad well adding more pineapple balsamic if desired. Serve immediately and enjoy!
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
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