This is my husband’s favorite salad!  He ordered a pear salad while we were out to dinner one evening, and I thought… I can totally make that!  This salad includes mixed salad greens, red wine poached pears, blue cheese, walnuts, and dried cranberries. 

Red Wine Poached Pear Salad

Ingredients:

4 peeled, whole pears (Bosc or Anjou)

1 1/2 cups of red wine (Red Zinfandel, Shiraz or Merlot)

3/4 cups of granulated sugar

3 strips of lemon zest

2 whole cloves

1 cinnamon stick

2 cups of mixed salad greens

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup dried cranberries

2 oz blue cheese

2 tablespoons of raspberry vinaigrette

Coarsely ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1.      Peel four whole pears, leaving the stem intact.  Combine red wine, sugar, lemon zest, cloves, and cinnamon stick in a small saucepan.  Over Low heat, stir to dissolve the sugar into the wine.  Position the pears so that they fit snuggly into the saucepan.  You may need to add water to cover the pears depending on the size of your saucepan.  Slowly simmer the pears for 15 – 20 minutes, or until they are tender and can be easily pierced with a knife.  Remove the pears from the poaching liquid and allow them to cool.

2.      When the pears have cooled, cut them in half and use a spoon to remove the seeds.  Then thinly slice the pears.

3.      On a salad plate, arrange the mixed salad greens, walnuts, cranberries, and blue cheese.  Drizzle the salad with the vinaigrette, and then top with the sliced pears and coarsely ground pepper.

4.      Enjoy!

La Bonne Vie!

~Jen