Roasted pear and arugula salad with pomegranate-chipotle vinaigrette
Eating Well magazine and my wife teamed up to make today what may be the best winter salad I have ever had. Seriously — it's a perfect blend of different flavors, heat, and sweet.
It sounds fancy but I was told it was actually pretty easy to make. It's celebratory and beautiful on the plate. If you can take the time, try it. Let me know what you think.
Happy New Year.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 6 small firm but ripe pears — pick your shape. Bosc pears are classic pear shape.
- 1 tablespoon agave syrup (this is the juice of the agave plant found at natural food stores by the usual maple syrup from trees)
- 1/3 cup unsweetened pomegranate juice
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
- 1 small shallot, minced
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground chipotle chili powder
- Pinch of ground cloves
- 4 cups arugula
- 2 cups mixed baby lettuces (obviously you could use lettuces on hand but the peppery taste of arugula and the tender mixed greens are really nice)
- Pomegranate seeds (optional)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Shave a little off the fat end of the pear so it stands up tall. Core it from the base up if you wish using an apple corer or a thin spoon. Leave the stems on.
- Place the pears on a baking sheet and brush with agave nectar. Roast until the pears are tender and browned — anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes depending on the size and degree of ripeness when you started.
- Whisk all the dressing ingredients together.
- Toss the greens with dressing in a large bowl and scatter them artfully on the plates. Place a pear in the center of each.
- Sprinkle with optional pomegranate seeds.
Nutrition information (per serving)
- Calories: 137
- Total fat: 3 g
- Saturated fat: 0 g
- Trans fat: 0 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
- Sodium: 61 mg
- Total carbohydrate: 30 g
- Dietary fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 1 g