Arugula, roasted pears & asparagus salad with walnut dressing
A salad recipe that combines the goodness of leafy greens, vegetables, nuts, and fruits with a balanced mix of different tastes
- 5 cup Tender Arugula
- 1 cup Walnuts - Toasted
- 1/2 cup Olive oil
- 3 Cloves of garlic - Roasted
- 1/2 cup Fresh Parsley (Optional)
- 2 tsp Lemon juice
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Water (Adjust as per desired consistency)
- 3 Pears (Semi ripe ( must be still hard on the surface))
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 1 tbsp Brown sugar
- 1 tsp Salt
- 20 Asparagus spears, trimmed
- 1 tsp Crushed Black pepper
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Olive oil
- 3 Cloves of garlic - Thinly sliced
- 1 cup Pecan
- 1 tbsp Brown sugar
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1 Step -1 : Making the Roasted Pears
Peel, core and cut pears into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Toss the pear slices with honey and brown sugar in a large bowl. Transfer to a baking pan large enough to hold the slices in a single layer. Bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes or until the pears turn golden brown. Avoid burning the pears. Turn the Pear slices over to expose the other surface. Bake for another 10 minutes or until the pears are tender and golden brown on both sides.
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Step -2 : Walnut dressingRoast the chopped walnuts and Garlic in a pan until the garlic turn light brown and the walnuts start to change the color to light brown. Don’t burn the walnuts. We just need to roast until the raw flavor of walnuts goes away.
Blend all the ingredients in a mixer until the dressing is smooth and uniform in texture.
To ensure we get a uniform texture, Use a strainer to filter the dressing.
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Step-3 : Roasting the AsparagusTrim the bottom part of asparagus spears to ensure the fibrous part is removed. We only need the tender portions. Cut the Asparagus into 1-2 inch length pieces.
Roast the asparagus in a frying pan on high heat for about 7-10 minutes with Olive oil, salt, chopped garlic, and pepper. The asparagus should be crunchy and develop a light char on the surface.
Alternatively, you can mix the asparagus with other ingredients and bake in an oven at 400F for 8-10 minutes, turning over the spears once after 5 minutes.
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Step-4 :Glazed pecansHeat the butter in a frying pan. Add the pecans when the butter has melted and mix well until the butter has coated uniformly. Sprinkle the brown sugar and keep stirring on medium heat. Sugar starts to melt and coat the pecans. Make sure that the Pecans are not burnt. Remove the pan from the heat as soon as the molten sugar has coated the pecans uniformly.
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Step- 5 : Plating the SaladFor serving, arrange all the ingredients separately on a large salad plate. To serve on individual plates, lay the bed of arugula and top it with the desired quantity of dressing. Mix well. Lay the asparagus, pears, and pecans on top of the arugula mixed with walnut dressing.
Notes- This salad is best eaten fresh. If you refrigerate, the crunchy textures will be lost and the tastes will be different.
- Watch out while roasting the pears, asparagus, or while glazing the pecans. If they get burnt, they will taste bitter and cannot be used in the salad.
- You can also eat the roasted asparagus as a side dish without any of the other ingredients in this salad.
- The roasted pears can be eaten as a dessert with a topping of mascarpone cheese, OR vanilla ice cream with a topping of roasted almonds or coconut flakes.
Salad, Arugula, Asparagus, Pecans, Walnut, salad, dressing, pears,
Vinay MummigattiI love traveling, cooking, and reading. This blog is a reflection of my passion for cooking. Food is a representation of culture and I have tried to assimilate foods from different cultures across the world. I am an Indian by birth who moved to the USA 20 years back. I hope my recipes and articles bring new experiences and joy to the readers. Please share your comments and feedback.
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