Steemit Iron Chef 2017 #05 : Pear and goat cheese salad

The theme this week really confused me at first. Pears usually go in my belly fresh, not cooked in any way. Maybe there would sometimes be a filled, oven baked pear here and there or a kompot(syrup), but not a lot more. So I did something pretty safe. I paired a fruit with cheese. I know it is not safe if you use the wrong cheese! :P. There are so many cheeses, that you can find the right combination for any food item with one or another cheese.

I do not know if my dish could actually be considered a salad, as I ate the pear with toasted white bread and the cheese, and the lamb's lettuce leaves were consumed separately, with our second course today, but that is what I will call it for the sake of the dish. I love the mixture of goat cheese and pear as the cheese melted in my mouth and the pear gave the dish a perfectly balanced sweetness.

I do not make salads often as I usually choose to go with a second course and a dessert, but this was one of my best decisions food-wise lately. It was my first time making this, but I did have the pleasure tasting it before, let me tell you, home made food is the best, though! No need to act civilized, so I munched my bread in an unladylike manner :D

The salad is fast to make (around 15 to 20 minutes)

Ingredients

2 or 3 pears
300 g goat cheese
olive oil
thyme
a little bit of cress salad
handful of walnuts
lamb's lettuce
1 teaspoon of cranberry jell
baguette on the side
salad leaves

I baked more pears for desert, I love ice cream with baked fruits!

First pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Cut up your pears, you can make them in smaller pieces or big ones like I chose to.

Cover your baking pan with a baking sheet and put the pears on it.

Cut your goat cheese in pieces around 5 mm thick and add them on the pan as well.

Do not add paper to your food :D

Now cover the cheese with a little bit of olive oil and thyme leaves, it will give the food an amazing taste.

Put the pan in the oven for around 5 minutes.

Break up your walnuts into smaller pieces.

After the five minutes add walnuts on top of your pears and cheese and bake for 3 more minutes. The nuts should not be burned.

Put cut up baguette pieces in the toaster.

Put your lamb's lettuce on a plate or in a bowl, depending of how you want to serve your salad (individually or together for everybody)

You can add cut up salad leaves, but I used them mostly for the presentation, the salad will be good just with lamb's lettuce as well.

The pears won't be completely baked after the 8 minutes, I like them that way the best. When there is still some crunch left in them.

My salad leaves are all wet as they come straight from the garden, under a water stream and in the plate

Put the pears on top of your salad and cheese on top of the pears, then add the cranberry jelly, it is an amazing addition.

Garnish with the nuts from the oven and finish up with cut up cress salad.

Take your toasted bread and voilà, you have got a dish!

Hope you enjoy it! And as I said, I like to eat my salad separately from the cheese, pear and bread as those three are the best combo ever!

P.S the dish is best eaten hot as the cheese is melting in your mouth that way!

Have an amazing day, week and life,
Linda