Fennel, Blue Cheese and Pear Salad

pear, fennel, and blue cheese salad

I adapted this fennel and pear with blue cheese recipe from the Three Bowl Cookbook, adding salt and using less fennel, more pears, and raw pears instead of cooked ones. Pears play nicely with blue cheese, and the fennel, braised in olive oil, adds a mellow sweetness.

The original recipe calls for blue Stilton, but I substituted the less expensive, but still pricey, Saint Agur blue cheese. Sometimes just a little bit of an expensive ingredient can make the meal, and that’s the case here. The tiny amount used cost about $2.00.

11/12 update: I made this again using the much less expensive Amish Blue cheese. It’s still good, but I’m preferring the idea of serving these ingredients arranged atop a bed of salad greens. I’m eating less cheese now and for me, I sustituted currants sprinkled on the salad instead of the blue cheese.

Fennel and Blue Cheese with Pears

: Mary Saylor

: Salad/Appetizer

: 10 mins

: 20 mins

: 30 mins

: 3-4

Adapted from the Three Bowl Cookbook. This dish with fennel, blue cheese, and pears makes an inspired starter for a fall or winter meal.

Ingredients

2 bulbs fennel or anise
1-2 Tbs. olive oil
salt
2 pears
2 Tbs. artisan blue cheese

Instructions

Quarter fennel bulb and slice out the harder, pithy center. Slice the fennel thinly, using both the white bulbs and the green stalks but not the feathery tops.
Brown the fennel in olive oil for about 20 minutes, salt to taste.
To serve: Put a little browned fennel on each plate, slice and arrange the pear next to it, and sprinkle the blue cheese on top of the fennel and sliced pears.

WordPress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe