Tomato Pear Salad
I've missed the last two weeks of the farmers' market since I've been back in town because I have such a glut of fruits and vegetables and I've been harvesting from my garden like mad. It's hard to get through everything and I hate to see anything spoil. I keep suggesting to my son that he come by for some of the astonishing amount of kale and sorrel I have, but they get a CSA box and they face the same issue. This week I thought I would take the bull by the horns and just toss together some ingredients that you wouldn't necessarily normally find together.
I had some lovely little grape tomatoes, some Swiss chard from my garden and some pears that were quickly getting to the stage where they would be too ripe. The peaches and pears have been fantastic this year and I've had some of each on hand for the last month. I've used the pears in savory dishes before, usually putting them on top of a spinach salad or on top of ravioli with brown butter., but this time I decided to use it as an ingredient rather than a garnish.
I watched my husband eat the first mouthful of salad and asked if it was weird or okay, and he said he really liked it. It turned out to be a very nice light lunch and the tomatoes and pears worked beautifully together. I'm a big devotee of toast, and I love serving things on top of toast, so that's what I did with this salad. I had a very sturdy Bavarian rye bread with nuts and seeds in it which gave the salad another dimension as well.You might even toss in a bit of blue cheese with this if you wanted. If pears are finished where you live, then try this with apple. If you have time, let the tomato and pear macerate in the oil and vinegar for half an hour or so. I hardly ever measure when I make an oil and vinegar dressing, and I like it quite acidic, so you might want to experiment with those measurements.
This would be great as a first course for a fall dinner party. This served two people, so just increase the amounts as necessary.
Tomato Pear Salad
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 pear, peeled, cored and diced
1 tbsp fresh herbs such as thyme or oregano
2 oz extra virgin olive oil for dressing plus a bit for cooking
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 bunch of Swiss chard, washed and roughly chopped
2 or 4 slices of a sturdy bread, toasted
1 oz blue cheese (optional)
chopped toasted walnuts for garnish (optional)
In a small bowl place the tomatoes and pears and add the olive oil, vinegar, herbs and salt and pepper to taste. Stir to coat and set aside.
In a small skillet add a bit of olive oil and heat until it shimmers. Add Swiss chard and stir until it has just wilted, about 3 or 4 minutes.
Plate the toast and add a generous layer of Swiss chard and then spoon tomato and pear mixture over top. Garnish with blue cheese and/or walnuts if using. Serve immediately.
This tomatoes salad sound delicious. I love to make salads with vegetable slicer