Roasted Pear and Hazelnut Salad

10/2/2013

Roasted Pear and Hazelnut Salad

Can you believe it's already October! We're fully moving into Fall and while summertime is always my favorite season, I'm super excited about cooking up tons of new Fall recipes. Think comforting soups & chilis, pumpkin desserts, roasted root vegetables, and delicious, hearty salads packed with Fall flavors. Today I'm sharing one of my favorite salads with  roasted pears that are both sweet and savory, dried figs, and toasted hazelnuts, topped with fresh Parmesan cheese and a homemade red wine vinaigrette dressing. It just screams October and you will just love it!

I learned a technique for roasting pears in my cooking program, and the result is so pretty and elegant - the perfect finishing touch on this Fall salad. The pears are roasted on bed of thyme, which adds a ton of flavor, and then they're drizzled with honey, and finished salt and pepper. I mean, seriously, how nice and impressive does this look!

You ready to whip up this salad and impress all your friends? Let's do it!

Ingredients
3 handfuls of spinach
2 Bartlett pears (peeled) - not quite ripe
Drizzle of honey + 1/2 tbsp for dressing
1/2 cup roasted hazelnuts - chopped
1/2 cup dried figs - chopped (I used Trader Joe's Turkish Smyrna Figs)
1/4 cup freshly shaved Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Dressing:
1/2 shallot - minced
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tbsp honey
Salt & pepper to taste

Serves 4.

•  Pre-heat oven to 350. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and a bed of fresh thyme.
  
• Start with the pears. Slice in half and use a melon baller to remove seeds. With the flat side down, cut slits in the pear, slicing through just one side of the pear. Press down to "fan" the pear out. This is purely for aesthetics so don't worry if some slices detach. Place sliced pear on the bed of thyme on baking sheet. Drizzle with honey and finish with freshly cracked pepper and salt over each pear.
• Roast pears until they are soft and slightly golden - about 25 minutes.
• At the same time, toast hazelnuts in the oven until golden - about 5 minutes. Once finished, slice hazelnuts or run through food processor.
• For the dressing, chop shallot and let it sit in the tbsp of red wine vinegar for 5-10 minutes. Then add olive oil, honey, salt and pepper.
• When pears are finished, carefully remove them from baking sheet and discard thyme sprigs.
  
• Assemble salad - spinach, dried figs, hazelnuts & roasted pears on top. Finish with dressing and shaved Parmesan.
  

I hope this new recipe gets you excited for the fabulous flavors of Fall! Let me know how you like it!