Roasted Pear Gorgonzola Salad

Roasted Pear Gorgonzola Salad

Today I turned to The Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten, for inspiration. Last week I was watching her on the Food Network, and she made this lovely looking salad that made me want to go to the grocery store right away to purchase the ingredients. Well, three days later I made it to the grocery store and got most of the ingredients the recipe called for. I did, however, deviate from the recipe just a tad. The original calls for blue cheese, walnuts and port. I substituted the blue cheese for gorgonzola, almonds for the walnuts, and balsamic vinegar for the port. The end result was a delicious and filling salad! So good in fact, I’ve already considered it a contestant for this years Christmas salad.

Roasted Pear Gorgonzola Salad

Adapted from The Barefoot Contessa

 

2 ripe, firm pears

freshly squeezed lemon juice, about 1/4 c. plus 2 Tbsp.

3 oz. crumbled gorgonzola cheese

1/4 c. dried cranberries(I used Craisins)

1/4 c. almonds, toasted and chopped

1/2 c. apple cider

1 1/2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1/3 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. olive oil(I used about 2 Tbsp. less)

1 Tbsp. honey

Mixed greens

salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Peel the pears and slice them lengthwise into halves. Remove the cores. Trim a small slice away from the rounded sides so they will sit in the baking dish. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over them to prevent browning.

In a small bowl combine the gorgonzola, dried cranberries and almonds. Stuff filling into the pears.

In another bowl, combine the cider, vinegar and brown sugar, stirring well. Pour mixture over the pears and bake for 30 minutes.

Once pears are finished, whisk 1/4 c.  basting liquid with olive oil, 1/4 lemon juice, honey and a pinch of salt. Pour the dressing over the salad greens  then top with the pears. Serve and enjoy!