Roasted Pear & Beet Salad

This week’s Sunday Funday is featuring pears.  Pears are not a fruit I generally buy.  Fruit-wise, I prefer the crunch of apples to the soft, almost grainy texture of pears.  Despite this, I really wanted to try pears and have them be the star of the recipe.

Most pear recipes I found were desserts, which I knew only Hubs and I would eat, and even then, I didn’t know if we’d actually eat the entire tart or crumble.  So I got to thinking about a more savory application and eventually landed on a salad.

Underneath it all is a lettuce salad, followed by pears (fresh and roasted), beets, chickpeas (for protein), and goat cheese, and candied walnuts for flavor.  This tasty salad is hearty enough to be a main dish or it can be a filling side.  Oh, and you’ll probably get an eyebrow raise from teenagers you try serving this to, but they’ll live, and eat it without complaining.

Sunday Funday

Pears

• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Arugula and Pear Salad 
• Culinary Cam: Brûléed Posset-Filled Pears 
• Palatable Pastime: Cranberry Pear Mostarda 
• Sid's Sea Palm Cooking: Gluten free Frangipane Pear Tarts 
• Karen's Kitchen Stories: Pear and Cherry Sourdough Bread 
• Food Lust People Love: Pear Crisps 
• Sneha's Recipe: Protein Packed Winter Veggies & Fruit Salad 
• Amy's Cooking Adventures: Roasted Pear & Beet Salad 
• Mayuri's Jikoni: Roasted Pear Crostini 
• Our Good Life: Sparkling Pear Salad Dressing 
• Mayuri's Jikoni: Roasted Pear Crostini

Roasted Pear & Beet Salad

Beets

3 beets, peeled and sliced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

¼ teaspoon onion powder

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

Salt & pepper

Roasted Pear

1 bosc pear, (firm, slightly under-ripe), cored and sliced

Drizzle olive oil

Drizzle balsamic vinegar

¼ teaspoon honey

Salt & pepper

Balsamic Marinated Chickpeas

1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained & rinsed

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

¼ teaspoon onion powder

⅛ teaspoon garlic powder

Salt & pepper

Candied Walnuts

1 ½ tbsp butter

2 tbsp sugar

½ cup chopped walnuts

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp vanilla extract

Salad

3-4 cups mixed greens

2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

1 red anjou pear, (soft, ripe), cored and sliced

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Place the beet slices and seasonings on a piece of aluminum foil, fold over to make a packet.  Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or until beets are tender.

Toss the bosc pear with seasonings.  Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, start marinating the chickpeas.  Mix the chickpeas with all marinade ingredients and refrigerate 1 hour or until ready to serve.

Next, start the candied walnuts.  Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.

Add the sugar and walnuts and cook, stirring constantly until the sugar melts, about 5 minutes.  Cook for another minute or so or until the sugar is caramelized.  Then, remove from heat and stir in the cinnamon and vanilla.

Pour the nuts onto the prepared baking sheet and spread apart to harden.

To assemble, place the lettuce on a platter.  Top with beets, roasted pears, pears, goat cheese, candied walnuts, and chicken peas.  Drizzle some of the chickpea marinade over the whole salad as dressing and serve.