September is a contender for my favorite month. First, in theory, it begins to cool off in September (although this year it’s still pushing the upper 90s here). The other reason I love September is that I’m inundated with my favorite fruit—pears—right in my own back yard.
My tree yields Barlett pears, one of the sweetest and juiciest varieties. My favorite way to eat them is fresh, raw and whole. But because I have so many, I need to come up with other ways to use them too. A few days ago, I made a salad that included pears, crunchy pecans and Manchego cheese. On a bed of mixed greens from Ranui Gardens, this salad was excellent.
I got the idea for this green salad with pears from myrecipes. I mostly followed the recipe, except that I made extra dressing just in case and added pecans instead of walnuts. (The below recipe reflects the original dressing quantity. I actually doubled it and just had a small amount left over.) I waited until just before serving to slice and add the pears so that they wouldn’t brown. This salad was ready in 10 minutes, making it a great, light weekday meal.
Green Salad with Pears & Manchego
- 10 cup mixed baby lettuces
- 2 red Bartlett or other red-skinned pears, sliced into wedges (8 ounces
- 1/4 cup walnut halves, toasted and roughly chopped
- 1 ounce Manchego cheese, thinly shaved
- 3 tablespoons walnut oil
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon agave
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate arils (seeds)
Put It Together:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the walnut oil, sherry vinegar, water, Dijon mustard, agave, salt and pepper. Or put all these ingredients into a jar with a tightly fitted lid and shake vigorously to blend.
- Place all the other ingredients into a large salad bowl and toss, or divide the other ingredients among four individual salad bowls. Add dressing and mix well.