Courtesy of Earthbound Farm
Chunky homemade blue cheese dressing steals the show in this delicious combination of heirloom lettuces, caramelized pear slices, and toasted pecans. If you prefer, romaine makes a good substitute for heirloom lettuce because it stands up well to the bold dressing.
Salad:
2 firm pears, slightly shy of ripe
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground star anise
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
7 ounces Earthbound Farm Organic Heirloom Lettuce Leaves
About 1/3 cup Blue Cheese Dressing
1/2 cup toasted or candied pecans
Blue Cheese Dressing:
(makes 1-1/2 cups)
4 ounces crumbled blue cheese, preferably Roquefort
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1-1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 small clove garlic, finely minced
1/3 cup buttermilk
Tabasco Sauce, to taste
Peel the pears and rub them with lemon juice. Cut the pears in half through the stem end and remove the cores with a small spoon. Rub with more lemon juice. Cut each pear half into 4 wedges, so that you have a total of 16 wedges.
Combine the sugar and star anise in a small bowl and stir to blend.
Melt the butter in a skillet that is large enough to hold the pears in a single layer without crowding (alternately, use 2 pans or cook them in batches) over medium heat. Arrange the pears in the skillet and raise the heat to medium-high. Sprinkle the pears with half of the sugar and cook until the bottoms begin to turn golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Carefully flip the pears, sprinkle with the remaining sugar, and cook until the second side is caramelized, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the wedges to a plate and let them cool.
To make the dressing, place the blue cheese, mayonnaise, lemon juice, pepper, salt, sugar, and garlic in a small bowl and stir to blend. Whisk in the buttermilk. Add Tabasco to taste. The dressing can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 2 weeks.
Assemble the salad by placing the lettuce leaves, either whole or broken into pieces, in a large bowl. Add some of the dressing and toss to coat the leaves, adding more as desired.
Divide the greens among 4 plates. Arrange 4 pear wedges on top of each mound of greens and sprinkle with the pecans. Lightly drizzle some of the dressing over the pears and serve immediately.
*Vegetarian, *Gluten-Free
