Recipe

Pear & broccoli salad with blue cheese & pomegranates

It’s no secret that pear and blue cheese is a fabulous combination. The same is true for this tasty cheese and broccoli. It takes almost no time to prepare this simple salad. Layer the fresh ingredients on a bed of baby spinach leaves, whip up the refreshing dressing, and top it all with sweet, juicy pomegranate arils and nuts – a side dish like no other. This combination is the perfect balance between the tangy, salty blue cheese, the sweetness of the fruit, and crunch from the arils and roasted nuts.

Serves 4

Recipe developed for the Pomegranate Association of South Africa

Ingredients

Salad dressing

60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil

30 ml (2 tbsp) white wine or apple cider vinegar

5 ml (1 tsp) wholegrain or a mild Dijon mustard

5 ml (1 tsp) honey

salt and pepper to taste

Salad

a large handful of baby spinach leaves

125 g Tenderstem® broccoli, lightly steamed

2-3 ripe pears in the skin, thinly sliced

125 g blue cheese, coarsely crumbled

125 ml (½ cup) pomegranate rubies

toasted nuts, like pecans, macadamias or almonds

Method

1. Dressing: Whisk all the ingredients together in a jug or jar until well blended and season to taste.
2. Arrange all the salad ingredients on a platter and serve with the dressing.

Tip

1. Substitute the blue cheese for any cheese of your choice, like feta or a soft goats’ cheese. Even camembert or brie will be good options to use. A harder more mature cheese like pecorino or parmesan will also be delicious and every cheese will give the salad a slightly different flavour profile.

Photo by Adel Ferreira.