Spice Poached Pear And Aged Cheddar Salad Food

FRESH POACHED PEAR, TOASTED PECAN AND BLEU CHEESE SALAD WITH PEAR VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• To assemble salad, wash lettuce well and drain until very dry. Toss leaves in the Pear Vinaigrette in a salad bowl. Add the bleu cheese and pecans.
• Place a mound of lettuce on each of 4 plates. Serve with 1/2 a Poached Pear.
• Peel pears, leaving stems intact and trimming bottom to "seat" them firmly in bottom of large stockpot.
• Into the stockpot, add the wine, water, sugar, vanilla bean, star anise, lemon and orange peels, and cinnamon stick and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from stove and let cool to room temperature before refrigerating. Reserve 1/4 cup of poaching liquid for the vinaigrette.
• Place ingredients in large bowl and whisk together. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

SPICE POACHED PEAR AND AGED CHEDDAR SALAD

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients into a large pot. Make sure that the liquid comes up so that the pears are submerged. Depending on how deep and wide your pot is, you may have to add just a touch more water so that the pears are covered.
• Put the pot over medium heat until the liquid comes up to a low simmer and allow to cook for 5 minutes or so.
• Turn the heat off, and allow the pears cool to room temperature in the liquid. The pears should be tender when poked with a fork.
• The pears will hold best in the fridge, in their cooking liquid. When ready to use, cut the sides of the pear off, working around the core, then slice.
• Combine all ingredients, with the exception of the aged cheddar, into a large bowl. Season with salt & freshly ground pepper, then gently toss. Finish by grating the aged cheddar right over top.
• Combine all ingredients except the olive oil into a small bowl. Whisk together so that the salt dissolves, then whisk in the olive oil.

SPICED POACHED PEARS IN CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a pan big enough to hold the pears snugly, tip in all the ingredients except the pears. Half fill the pan with water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 mins to infuse, drop in pears, cover and gently poach for about 30 mins until soft. Turn off the heat and set aside. The pears can be poached up to 2 days ahead and kept in the poaching syrup in the fridge.
• To make the chocolate sauce, tip the chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Bring the cream, milk and cinnamon to the boil and pour over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted. To serve, drain the pears and, holding them by the stem, dip them in the chocolate sauce to completely cover. Serve each pear with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.