We’re going through a serious salad phase right now, not just because they’re delicious and the perfect food for the warm weather we’re having now. We’re in love with our new salad spinner and use it as often as possible. And because there is the slight possibility of running out of creative ideas for salads, we look to those around us for interesting recipes like the Orange and Almond Salad we tried recently or this lovely Poached Pear Salad recipe shared with us by Puja.

Puja aka Mathanki is an Associate Creative Directory at a major ad agency and all that creativity seemingly seeps through in the rest of her life as well. She’s put together a beautiful home, a lovely balcony garden, takes lovely pictures and even cooks! Her blog PinkPaperLanterns documents some of these projects of hers.

We went over to her beautiful home for dinner recently and part of the fantastic meal was this Poached Pear Salad with Feta. The pears are poached in red wine and taste of the wine and cinnamon. The fruity sweetness is balanced with a tangy vinaigrette and the salty, sharp feta. Delicious. Try it out.

Poached Pear Salad with Feta

Ingredients

1 large, plump, firm Pear
2 cups Wine (white or red)
3 tsp Sugar (more if you want it sweeter)
a pinch of Cinnamon.
1 head of Arugula lettuce
1/2 cup Walnuts, chopped

Herb feta cheese:
Soft Feta and assorted herbs - chopped Parsley, Thyme and Rosemary

For the Vinaigrette:
4 tbs Olive Oil
1/2 medium Onion, finely chopped
3 tsp White Wine Vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

Peel the pear and cut it into halves. In a saucepan bring the wine and sugar to a light boil and immerse the pear in it. Add a pinch of cinnamon. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Keep stirring once in a while. The pear should neither be too firm, nor too soft. Turn off the heat and allow the pear to cool in the liquid.

Meanwhile prepare the vinaigrette by whisking the chopped onions with olive oil and white wine vinegar. Add salt and pepper.

Toss the lettuce and chopped walnuts with the vinaigrette.

Whisk the soft feta with the chopped herbs.

Slice the pear into thin slivers.

To assemble the salad, place the greens around on a plate or in a salad bowl, top with the sliced pear arranged prettily and garnish with dollops of herbed feta.