Poached Pear Salad is ideal for any fancy meal and also be good for a light lunch when paired (peared! now there’s a joke in the making… ) when paired with a bowl of soup or a sandwich. The salad looks elegant, tastes great, is endlessly customizable and is dead easy to throw together at the last minute (as long as the pears have been made and chilled ahead of time).

Poached Pear Salad

For the Poached Pears:

• 6-8 Bosch Pears, with stems left on, peeled (Bosch pears are the ugly brown skinned pears.  I’d suggest using smaller pears so your guests aren’t too full after the salad to enjoy the main meal)
• 2 cups Port, Shiraz or Zinfandel (The choice of wine will affect the taste of your pears.  If you can afford it, a good port is great.  I often the poach the pears in Zinfandel)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 3 slices orange
• 4 star anise

For the Salad:

• 1 bag of salad greens (I usually cut up my favorite lettuces, I don’t like the smell or the taste of bagged salad greens)
• Cheese of choice, about 1 T. per plate (feta, blue, goat)
• Extra toppings of choice, if desired: chopped nuts, candied nuts, dried cranberries, pomegranate seeds…

For the Dressing:

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 3 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar (OK to sub champagne vinegar)
• 1 Tablespoon whole grain mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3 tablespoons reserved poaching liquid
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Poach the pears: In a large pan with a lid, combine wine, sugar, water, and star anise.  Turn heat to high and bring mixture just to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar.
2. Add peeled whole pears-with stem intact-to hot liquid turning to coat well.
3. Stir in orange slices
4. Cover pan and simmer pears on low for 10 to 15 minutes, turning pears occasionally, until pears are tender, but still hold their shape.
5. Discard star anise.  Remove pears to a bowl and set aside to cool.
6. Turn up heat under the wine mixture, heat to boiling, and simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes.  Liquid should thicken and reduce to 1 ½ cups. (Pour liquid into measuring cup every once in awhile to measure progress).
7. When pears are cool, cut in half lengthwise, and carefully remove core.
8. Pour reduced poaching liquid and the orange slices over halved pears.  Cover and chill overnight and up to two days. (Poached pears actually keep quite well for a week or more)
9. When ready to serve, drain the pears from the poaching liquid. (Reserve the reduced poaching liquid. You will need 3T for the salad dressing.) Cut pear into a fan and the bottom, and keeping intact at the narrow top end.
10. Make the Salad Dressing: Combine all the ingredients–except for the olive oil- for the salad dressing. Mix thoroughly. Gradually whisk in the olive oil. Use immediately. If necessary, if the dressing has separated, shake well before using.
11. Prepare the Salads: Place pear in the middle of a salad plate, and over a pile of salad greens.  Carefully and artfully  spread out the fanned bottom part of the poached pear. (Sometimes I don’t mess with this, I just cube or slice the pears and arrange on top of the salad greens.)
12. Sprinkle pear and greens with approximately 1T. of the crumbled cheese of your choice and any desired toppings. Don’t overlook pomegranate seeds, I think they make the salad look especially attractive. I don’t like nuts, but my friends seem to love some candied pecans on this salad.
13. Drizzle salad with the salad dressing.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today.