Roasted Pear Potato And Watercress Puree With Toasted Walnuts Food

ROASTED PEARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Peel, if you wish (I leave them unpeeled) Slice pear in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds to make a nice circle. Spray with veggies spray and set aside in a gratin dish sprayed with veggie spray, cut side up.
• In a small bowl mix together, cream cheese, salt, nutmeg and 1 teaspoon honey. Fill each pear half cavity with half of the cheese mixture.
• Place a half walnut on top of the cheese mixture; lightly press it down. Drizzle pear halves with remaining teaspoon of honey.
• On centre grate in oven, roast at 350°F for about 1 hour or until soft. Test with a toothpick at about 45 minutes.

ROASTED-PEAR-POTATO-AND-WATERCRESS PUREE WITH TOASTED WALNUTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes. Peel, halve and core the pears. Place the pears on the baking sheet with the potatoes and roast until the potatoes and pears are soft, about 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the watercress and blanch for 1 minute. Drain well. Place the watercress and the pears in a food processor and process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh. Pass the potato through a ricer into a medium-size bowl. Stir the pear mixture into the potato until smooth. Season with the salt and pepper to taste. Divide among 4 plates and sprinkle with the toasted walnuts. Serve immediately.

ROASTED PEAR SALAD

Steps:

• For the pears, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. In a small bowl, drizzle the pears with the olive oil, sprinkle with the sugar and salt, and toss to coat well. Transfer the pears to a baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool.
• For the vinaigrette, whisk together the olive oil, pecan oil, vinegar, honey, mustard, and shallots in a small mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
• To assemble the salad, combine the endive leaves and bitter greens in a large serving bowl. Add the vinaigrette and toss to coat well. Wait until just before serving to top with the pears, blue cheese, and pecans.

FRESH PEAR BREAD

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla; mix well. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt; stir into the egg mixture just until moistened. Toss pears with lemon juice. Stir pears and walnuts into batter (batter will be thick). , Spoon into 2 greased 9x5-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350° for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

WATERCRESS ENDIVE SALAD WITH ROASTED PEARS AND ROQUEFORT

Steps:

• To make the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar and mustard in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Preheat the oven to 400F.
• Peel pears. Cut into quarters and core. Cut each pear into approximately 10 thick slices each. Place pear slices in a bowl and toss well in the Port and the 2 tablespoons olive oil. Arrange on a heavy baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 20 minutes or until slices are just tender. Let cool.
• Place walnuts on baking sheet. Toast for 5 minutes. Watch them carefully so they do not burn.
• Remove the tough stems from the watercress. Remove cores from the endive and cut into thick slices.
• To serve, arrange watercress around the outer edge of a large serving platter with the endives in the centre. Drizzle with dressing. Top with roasted pear slices and sprinkle with toasted walnuts and crumbled Roquefort.