Pear Harvest Salad with Hazelnuts & Brie

If you want a fail-proof salad formula, with no recipe, just take a bed of greens and add a fruit, a nut, and a cheese. Drizzle with vinaigrette. This salad is a perfect proof point for that formula (which really never fails).

Happen to be planning your Thanksgiving menu? With pears, brie, and hazelnuts this dish fits right in. Looking for more of a salad-for-lunch kind of situation? Add cooked farro, which will add some heft.

Pear Harvest Salad with Hazelnuts & Brie

Published November 13, 2019 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 2-4   |    Active Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

3-4 cups baby arugula

1 ripe bosc pear

1/4 cup raw hazelnuts

1/4 cup brie, sliced into bite-sized pieces

1/4 tablespoons dried cranberries

1/4 cup cooked and cooled farro, wheat berries or brown quinoa

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard

Generous pinch salt

Several cracks of black pepper, plus more for topping

Directions:

1. Preheat an oven to 300°F and spread hazelnuts on a baking sheet. Place pan in oven, and toast nuts for 10-15 minutes, checking frequently. The nut should be golden brown (the papery skin will be dark, and begin to blister). Remove nuts from oven, and place in a cloth kitchen towel. Rub nuts in the towel to remove the papery skins (some won’t come off, but it’s fine). Set aside to cool completely.
2. While the hazelnuts toast, place arugula in a serving bowl.
3. Slice the pear in half. Cut off the stem, and remove the seedy center. Slice pear into 1/4-inch thick pieces. Arrange pears over top of the arugula.
4. Top with dried cranberries, farro, and pieces of brie.
5. When hazelnuts are cooled, scatter over the salad.
6. Add balsamic vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard, a pinch of salt, and a few cracks of pepper to a jar/container with a lid. Place lid on jar, and shake to combine.
7. When ready to serve, drizzle vinaigrette over salad.

Baklava Stuffed Pears

When my dad hosted parties, he had a rule that no one else was allowed in the kitchen. Someone would try and he was tisk them: Uh-uh! and shoo them away. Dinner was his work of art; doing it all was his version of hospitality. No one would chop a vegetable other than he and occasionally, his assistant— me. 

Every night was a different theme: sushi, Ethiopian, Mexican. Middle Eastern night fell short of none. Layers of phyllo dough were painted with butter, and toasted nuts were piled in-between, and small squares of baklava were drizzled with citrus infused honey. 

To me, new roots, are a redefinition of your childhood traditions, in a new light. These baklava stuffed pears are exactly that. Reminiscent of those baklava squares, baked into a fresh new vehicle. Lighter, fruitier... a fusion of new and old. 

The mix of pears with spices, honey, and nuts taste like an quintessential fall dish, one that you can dress up or down depending on what you’re craving: plain, with yogurt or oatmeal, or alongside a scoop of ice cream drizzled with chocolate. 

Baklava Stuffed Pears

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free    |   Caitlin Sherwood    

Baklava gets a twist when baked right into ripe pears!

Serves: 10   |    Total Time: 40 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 5 pears
• 1/2 cup nuts (mix of walnuts, pistachios and hazelnuts)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/16 teaspoon cloves
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 2 tablespoons honey

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Wash the pears, and half each one. Use a pairing knife to remove the seeds & pithy centers. Place the pears flesh-side-up in a baking dish.
2. In a food processor, pulse the nuts, coconut sugar, cinnamon, and cloves until nuts are roughly chopped. Use a spoon to scoop the nut mixture into the cavity of the pears, creating mounds of nuts on each one.
3. Then, heat the lemon juice, butter, and honey in a small sauce pan until they simmer. Remove from heat. Use a brush to spread the butter mixture over each pear.
4. Place pan in oven and bake until pears are cooked through, about 25 minutes. Serve warm or cold, plain, with ice cream, or over yogurt or oatmeal.