Spinach Pear And Frisee Salad With Curried Cashews Food

SPINACH PEAR SALAD FROM RESTAURATEUR, TOM DOUGLAS

Steps:

• Curried Cashews: Preheat oven to 400°; toast cashews on baking sheet for 8-10 minutes or until golden; combine remaining ingredients; add hot cashews, toss until coated; set aside to cool.
• Honey-Sesame Vinaigrette: Combine all ingredients and whisk until emulsified.
• Salad: Cut bacon into 1/2" pieces and cook until crisp.
• Put greens, onions and sliced pears in a bowl and toss with enough vinaigrette to coat everything well.
• Place salad on six plates; sprinkle each with bacon and curried cashews; garnish with cluster of grapes placed at the side of each plate.

CURRIED CASHEWS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet.
• Whisk together the egg white, curry powder and sugar in a medium bowl until thoroughly blended and slightly foamy. Add the cashews and toss to coat evenly. Spread on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Nuts will be fragrant and slightly darker but still a bit moist; they?ll crisp as they cool.
• Cool completely on the pan. Nuts will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

SPINACH SALAD WITH PEARS, WALNUTS AND GOAT CHEESE

Steps:

• Chop 1 pear and slice remaining two.
• Put chopped pear, oil, vinegar, mustard and honey into a blender and purée.
• Transfer to a small bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons water, more if needed, to thin for a pourable dressing.
• Put spinach, onion, walnuts, goat cheese, sliced pears and dressing into a large bowl and toss gently to coat. Serve immediately.
• Three Twists on the OriginalApple Cheddar Spinach SaladReplace pears with apples, walnuts with pine nuts and goat cheese with small cubes of sharp cheddar. Quinoa Spinach Pear SaladAdd 1 cup cooked and cooled quinoa to spinach salad mixture.Fig Spinach SaladReplace pears with 3/4 cup dried figs (1/4 cup chopped for dressing, remainder sliced thinly in salad).

SALAD OF FRISEE, RADICCHIO, PEARS, POMEGRANATE AND PERSIMMONS

Steps:

• In a small saucepan over high heat, reduce the wine until 1 to 2 tablespoons remain. Let cool.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, reduced wine, and olive oil and, season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Place the frisee, radicchio, persimmon slices, pear slices, and figs in a bowl.
• Add the vinaigrette and gently toss together. Place on individual salad plates. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and walnut halves and serve immediately.

FRISEE SALAD WITH SPICED WALNUTS, PEARS, FARMHOUSE CHEDDAR, AND PORT VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Dressing: Simmer the port in a small saucepan until reduced to 2 tablespoons. Let cool, then whisk in the vinegar, shallot, and salt and pepper, to taste. Gradually whisk in the olive oil.
• Salad: In a large bowl, toss the frisee or mesclun, radicchio, and pear. Divide the salad among 4 plates. Drizzle with the dressing; you probably won't use it all. With a vegetable peeler, shave the cheese over top. Scatter the walnuts on top and serve immediately.
• In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet, heat about 1-inch of oil to 350 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add walnuts and blanch for 30 seconds. Drain and transfer nuts to a medium bowl. While nuts are still hot and slightly wet, add confectioners' sugar and toss to coat nuts. Stir and toss until all the sugar has melted into the nuts; if bits of un-melted sugar remain on the nuts, they will not fry properly.
• Stir the nuts again before frying. Using a large slotted spoon, transfer a few nuts to the hot oil, allowing the foam to subside before adding another spoonful. (Otherwise, the oil could foam over and burn you.) Fry in small batches until the nuts are medium brown, about 45 seconds; be careful not to overcook. Scatter on an unlined baking sheet to cool slightly.
• In a small bowl, stir together cayenne, cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and pepper, to taste.
• While the nuts are still warm, transfer them to a bowl and sprinkle evenly with about half of the spice mix. Toss well to distribute the spices and then taste a nut. Add more spice mix, to taste, and toss well after each addition. When cool, pack in an airtight jar. They will keep at room temperature for at least 2 weeks.

SPINACH SALAD WITH CANDIED CASHEWS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300F (you can prepare your cashews several days ahead).
• In a small saucepan, mix together cashews, sugar, and water over medium heat until sugar dissolves.
• Cook and stir for about 15 minutes, or until mixture crystallizes.
• Spread the cashews onto parchment paper on a baking sheet (season with salt now if needed).
• Bake 15 minutes, then stir mixture.
• Bake 15 minutes more, then cool cashews before storing in an airtight container (until needed).
• Place spinach into salad bowl.
• Top with hard cooked eggs, mushrooms, dried fruit, and candied cashews.
• Juice the lemon.
• Whisk together the lemon juice, salt, pepper, dijon mustard, and sugar, adjusting sugar to taste.
• Slowly add olive oil and whisk until dressing emulsifies.
• Serve dressing over salad as desired.

CURRIED CASHEW, PEAR, AND GRAPE SALAD

Steps:

• In a large, dry skillet over medium-high heat, toast cashews until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove cashews to a dish to cool slightly.
• Return skillet to medium-high heat, cook bacon strips until crisp on both sides, about 7 minutes. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon, and soak up grease with a paper towel. Coarsely chop bacon, and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, stir together butter, rosemary, curry powder, brown sugar, salt, cayenne pepper, and toasted cashews. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, stir together white wine vinegar, mustard, and honey. Slowly whisk in olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
• In a large salad bowl, toss dressing with greens, pear slices, grapes, and bacon, and sprinkle with nut mixture.

SPINACH CASHEW SALAD

Steps:

• Chop bacon and fry until crisp.
• Drain on paper towel to remove as much excess fat as possible. Wash spinach and lettuce then tear leaves into bite size pieces.
• Place in Salad bowl.
• Add cashew pieces, grated cheese, and crumbled bacon.
• Toss when ready to serve. Serve with poppy seed dressing.
• NOTE: Fat grams may be reduced to 1 gram per serving if bacon and cashews are eliminated.
• Each add approximately 3 grams of fat per serving.
• Poppy Seed Dressing: Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.
• Alternate method: finely grate onion, add remaining ingredients and beat with mixer until well blended.

SPINACH PEAR SALAD

Steps:

• To make the vinaigrette, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, honey, sesame seeds, garlic, and salt and pepper in a bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil. Set aside.
• To make the curried cashews, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On a baking sheet, toast the cashews until golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the melted butter, rosemary, curry powder, brown sugar, salt, and cayenne in a bowl. Add the toasted cashews while they are still hot and toss with a rubber spatula so they are thoroughly coated with the spices and butter. Leave the oven on to cook the bacon.
• Put the bacon on a baking sheet, place it in the oven, and cook until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the bacon from the pan and cut the slices into 1-inch pieces. Keep the bacon warm.
• In a large bowl, combine the spinach, frisee, red onions, and sliced pears. Toss with enough vinaigrette to coat everything well. Divide the salad among 6 plates. Garnish each salad with pieces of warm bacon and spiced cashews. Set a grape cluster on the side of each salad.

SPINACH AND PEAR SALAD

Steps:

• Combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.
• Place the pear slices in a large bowl.
• Spoon 1 tablespoon dressing over pears; toss to coat.
• Add the remaining dressing, spinach, and onion; toss to coat.