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Poached Pear and Bleu Cheese Salad

Course Salad
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 40 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 4 pears firm
  • 2 cups Messina Hof Private Reserve Merlot
  • 1/3 cup sugar granulated
  • 1 tsp vanilla paste
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 2 star anise pods
  • 2 cups kale washed and chopped
  • 2 cups spring mix
  • 4 oz balsamic dressing
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup walnuts chopped and toasted
  • 1/2 cup smoked bleu cheese

Instructions

  • Pour Merlot into a cooking pot, add sugar, vanilla bean paste, cinnamon sticks, and star anise. Cook on medium heat, stirring regularly, until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes.  Do not boil.
  • Peel pears leaving the stems intact. If your pear does not stand upright, cut a bit of the bottom off to level it.
  • Place peeled pears into the cooking wine and cook on low heat until soft, about 30 minutes. While cooking, flip them around regularly, so they coat with the wine reduction evenly.
  • Once cooked, remove the pears from the pot and set them aside.
  • Strain the wine of the spices and return the wine to the pot and continue cooking so the wine reduces to a syrup-like thickness, about 15 minutes.
  • Drizzle some of the wine reduction over the pears and place in the refrigerator to cool for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
  • In a large mixing bowl, toss together kale, spring mix, and dressing.  Distribute evenly onto 4 plates.
  • Top the lettuce evenly with cranberries, walnuts, and smoked blue cheese.
  • Remove your pears from the syrup and slice into thin slices vertically, fanning the pear as you go. Place on top of your salad and serve.

Notes

Chefs Tip:
Look for baby kale as it is a bit more tender.
Smoked blue cheese can easily be found at Murray’s cheeses inside Kroger.  Look for the Smokehouse Blue variety.