Roasted Pear Salad with Radicchio, Aged Balsamic, Bellwether Farms Pepato and a Honey Walnut Dressing
from Jeff Mall, Chef/Owner Zin Restaurant & Wine Bar, Healdsburg, CA
3 Bosc pears, peeled, cut in half and cored
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. pure olive oil
6 oz. Bellwether Farms Pepato Cheese, cut into 12 wedges
1 Head Radicchio, shredded and washed
Aged Balsamic Vinegar
Honey Walnut Dressing:
1 C. Walnut pieces, toasted lightly
1/4 tsp. dried marjoram
1/2 C. honey
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Red Wine Vinaigrette:
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp. pure olive oil
1 tsp. dijon mustard
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 450
- Toss the pear halves in sugar and olive oil and place on baking sheet.
- Bake 25 minutes, or until pears are golden brown. Set aside until ready to make salad.
- Combine walnuts, honey and marjoram with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Whisk together red wine vinegar with dijon and 3 Tbsp. olive oil, season with salt and pepper.
- Assemble salad: Toss radicchio with the red wine vinaigrette and divide among 6 plates. Slice warm pears and fan out over radicchio. Place two slice of Pepato on each plate. Spoon honey walnut dressing over pears and cheese. Drizzle each plate with aged balsamic vinegar.
Serves 6 as a first course
