Watercress Pear Blue Cheese And Walnut Salad Recipes

PEAR AND BLUE CHEESE SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the nuts on a sheet pan in a single layer. Bake, shaking the pan occasionally, until the nuts are toasted and fragrant, about 7 to 10 minutes. Let the nuts cool, and then coarsely chop.
• Trim the stems of the watercress and arugula. Wash and dry the leaves.
• Meanwhile, whisk the vinegar and mustard together in a large salad bowl. Season with the 1/4 teaspoon salt and some pepper. Gradually whisk in the olive oil, starting with a few drops and then adding the rest in a steady stream, to make a smooth, slightly thick dressing.
• Halve the endive lengthwise, cut out core, then thinly slice crosswise and add all the lettuces to the bowl. Quarter and core the unpeeled pears and thinly slice; add to the salad. Scatter the cheese and nuts over the salad, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Toss the salad gently to evenly dress all the greens. Divide among 4 plates and serve immediately.

WATERCRESS, PEAR AND WALNUT SALAD WITH POPPY SEED DRESSING

Steps:

• Whisk vinegar, mustard and honey in small bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in oil. Mix in poppy seeds. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.
• Toss watercress and walnuts in large bowl with enough dressing to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Divide salad among 8 plates. Toss pears with 1/4 cup dressing in small bowl. Spoon pears atop salads.

WATERCRESS, PEAR, AND BLUE CHEESE SALAD

Steps:

• Divide the greens among 4 salad plates and chill. Meanwhile, prepare the dressing: Combine all the ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously to blend. When ready to serve, arrange the pear slices over the chilled greens. Top with blue cheese and walnuts and drizzle with 1 or 2 spoonfuls of dressing. Put the remaining dressing in a bowl and pass separately.

WATERCRESS, WALNUT, AND ROQUEFORT SALAD

Steps:

• Make caramelized walnuts:
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In baking pan toast nuts in oven until golden and fragrant, about 10 minutes. In a small bowl stir together caramelized-walnuts ingredients and in a small nonstick skillet cook over moderate heat, stirring, until sugar caramelizes and coats nuts. Transfer mixture to a bowl and cool. Break walnuts apart.
• Make dressing:
• Mince and mash garlic to a paste with salt and in a bowl whisk with mustard and lemon juice. Add oils in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified and whisk in tarragon and salt and pepper to taste.
• Trim endive and cut into julienne strips. Discard coarse stems from watercress and toss with endive and dressing. Top salad with Roquefort and walnuts.

WATERCRESS, ROCKET, SWEET PEAR, WALNUT AND PARMESAN SALAD

Steps:

• What a pukka combination, simple and classy. Don't try to make this when you feel like it, make it when you can buy perfect pears, otherwise it will taste naff. For 1 person I normally use around 1/2 a pear, 2 big handfuls of watercress and 2 big handfuls of rocket. If the pear skins are nice I just give them a wash, if not I remove them with a peeler. Then cut them in 1/2 and deseed. It doesn't really matter how you cut them up. Sometimes in big rough chunks, maybe sliced up or even grated. Then place into a bowl with the watercress and rocket. The pepperiness of the leaves works so well with the sweetness of the pear. Drizzle with good extra-virgin olive oil just to coat, a small squeeze of lemon juice (because the pear juice is slightly acidic but very tasty), and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss all this together and serve. Shave over Parmesan or pecornio, crumble your nuts over and tuck in. I love this salad with roasted meat or as a starter on its own.

WATERCRESS, PEAR, BLUE CHEESE AND WALNUT SALAD

Steps:

• Make the dressing by mixing everything together, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
• Mix the watercress and pear slices together and dress with the dressing.
• Arrange on 2 plates, distributing the pear evenly, embed the walnuts and crumble over the blue cheese.
• Relax.

WATERCRESS, SWEET PEAR, ROCKET, WALNUT AND PARMESAN SALAD

Steps:

• If the skins are nice just give them a wash, if not remove with a peeler. Then cut them in half and deseed. It doesn`t really matter how you cut them up. Sometimes in big rough chunks, maybe sliced up or even grated.
• Then place into the bowl with the watercress and rocket. The pepperiness of the leaves works so well with the sweetness of the pear.
• Drizzle with a good extra virgin olive oil just to coat, a small squeeze of lemon juice (because the pear juice is slightly acidic but very tasty), and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Toss all this together and serve. Shave over some Parmesan or Pecorino, crumble your nuts over.

PEAR, BLUE CHEESE, WALNUT AND BACON SALAD

Steps:

• Whisk together all vinaigrette ingredients until well blended; set aside.
• In a small frying pan set on a medium heat, melt the butter, stir in the maple syrup or honey and then stir in the walnuts. Continue to heat the walnuts, stirring continuously, for approximately 2-3 minutes or until they are fragrant, caramelized and lightly browned. Remove from the heat; set aside.
• Place the greens in a large salad bowl or, if individual servings are preferred, distribute them equally among 6 salad plates. Sprinkle over the pears, blue cheese and walnuts. Place over chicken then drizzle with dressing and toss.
• Note: I find having the chicken warmed is superior to cold chicken.

PEAR, CHICORY & BLUE CHEESE SALAD

Steps:

• Discard the outer leaves from the chicory and slice in half lengthways. Cut out the base root, then slice into long, thin slivers and rinse. Pat dry and put in a bowl. Cut each pear quarter into 3 and toss with a little lemon juice to prevent discolouring. Add to the bowl with the parsley and walnut halves.
• Make a dressing by mixing the walnut oil with the remaining lemon juice and seasoning, then add to the bowl. Toss everything together, then plate up, crumbling over the cheese. Serve immediately.

GRIDDLED PEAR & BLUE CHEESE SALAD

Steps:

• Put the pears in a bowl and drizzle with 1 tsp of the oil. Heat a griddle pan, then cook the pears, in batches, for 1 min on each side. Set aside to cool.
• Mix the remaining oil, vinegar and honey. Toss the pears, leaves and cheese, divide between 4 plates and drizzle with the dressing. Serve with bread, if you like.