Pear, Rocket, Walnut and Blue Cheese Salad

Good morning all!

I've just got home from seeing Harry Potter and am still in a daze. David Yates - the director - has done incredibly well. Without giving anything away I can say that this film is much more sinister than the previous ones have been and was very true to the book. I'd even recommend those who aren't Harry Potter fans to go and see it, simply because even if you haven't seen the previous films you'll still enjoy the cinematography and the fantastic story line. 

 

Enough of that for the moment though and onto food!

Notice of Warning: The next few posts are going to be of recipes that have been made whilst I neglected the blog so they will not be vegan. Though of course you can make them such by omitting or replacing certain ingredients. 

Today’s post is on a pear, rocket, walnut and blue cheese salad I made back in winter - yes I know it's a long time ago for such a familiar meal but I think it's one of those comforting recipes you can have on stand by and whip together in a moments notice. For the vegans out there, while the blue cheese gives it a greater depth of flavor it is by no means essential, if you want to give the salad another dimension try brushing the pears with maple syrup and char grilling them. It should also be pointed out that I don’t like salads to be dressed so I often leave mine plain, however a walnut or blue cheese dressing would be prefect.

 

Ingredients:

1 nearly ripe pear

2 handfuls of rocket (I also added two leaves of romaine lettuce, and some spinach)

½ handful of walnuts

2 slivers of blue cheese, crumbled

few shavings of parmesan 

Method:

- Wash, dry and trim the salad leaves.

- Cut the pear in half lengthways and using an apple corer, melon scoop or teaspoon remove the core. Stand pear up again, pressing the two halves together and cut into eights to achieve segment-like pieces. If char grilling the pear heat the pan on a medium-high heat and with a pastry brush lightly cover the pears in maple syrup, once pan is hot transfer pears to the heat and allow to cook for 1-2 minutes on either side. You only want them to caramelize and slightly burnish, if you think the pan is too hot them immediately turn it down.

- Roughly chop the walnuts and crumble cheese. Finally, toss everything together and transfer everything to a serving bowl and garnish with the parmesan.

Question: Have you read all the Harry Potter or seen the films … or both? If so what was your favourite? Have you been disappointed by any of the films?

My favourite book was the Deathly Hallows simply because it made you think and anticipate what was coming more so than the previous ones did. The same applies to the film, which definitely stands out from the others more strongly.