Field Greens Salad with Pear, Walnuts, and Blue Cheese

Salads can start to feel like the same old thing, day after day. It’s the side dish at the meal that many people gloss over due to the uninspiring ingredients. Chef Ted Redos at the Lincoln Culinary Institute in Shelton, CT has a solution to perk up lackluster lettuce by adding some unexpected touches to your next field greens salad! He’s put together a mixture of flavors that are going to elevate salad to the highlight of the meal, not just a side dish.

In fact, there are so many flavors and notes in this field green salad, it will stand alone as a meal, not just as an accompaniment. Try it out for yourself – you won’t be disappointed!

Field Greens Salad Ingredients:

• 3 ½ oz (1/2 ea) fresh pear (ripe, corea and stem removed)
• 2 oz (1/4 cup) balsamic vinegar
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 4 oz (1/2 cup) olive oil
• 9 oz (13 ½ cups) baby mix lettuce (or mixture of choice)
• 9 oz (1 1/8 ea) fresh pear (ripe, cores, slice thinly, about 6 slices per quarter)
• 2 ¼ oz (1/2 cup 1 tbl) walnut pieces (lightly toasted)
• 4 ½ oz (3/4 cup) blue cheese (crumbled)

Directions:

For Vinaigrette:

1. Place pear, vinegar, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne in bowl of food processor or blender. Puree ingredients.
2. Slowly add olive oil through feed tube and process until emulsified (thickened). Correct seasonings. Refrigerate until needed.

To Assemble the Salad:

1. Place lettuce in bowl. Add ¾ oz (1 ½ tablespoons) dressing per 1 oz (1 ½ cups) lettuce. Toss to coat leaves.
2. Place coated lettuce on chilled serving plate. Decoratively top with 1 oz (3 each) pear slices, ¼ oz (1 tablespoon) walnut pieces, and ½ oz (1 ½ tablespoons) blue cheese.
3. Serve immediately.

Source: American Regional Cooking 1e: Chapter 11 (pp 338)

Yields: 9 ea; Serving Size: 1 ea; Servings: 9