Served on toasted bread, this Arugula Pear Orange and Pecorino Salad will offer a fruity sweetness with contrasting salty and bitter tones. Serve it on toast and you’ll have a healthy lunch, flavorful appetizer or a light meal.
This is an easy salad with a hint towards Italy. The Pecorino Romano cheese is salty and sharp and a true Italian staple. A cheese made from sheep’s milk and often used grated, in cheese sauces, like a Cacio e Pepe pasta.
It is also a delightful cheese when used in a salad in combination with something sweet. Like this Arugula Pear Orange and Pecorino Salad. You have sweet pears and a balsamic vinaigrette. In combination with a bitter arugula and a somewhat tart flavor of the blood oranges.
Ingredients of this Arugula Pear Orange and Pecorino Salad
- Arugula – a bitter green that has a beautiful leaf, almost like a leaf from an oak tree. You can use spinach or any other green instead, but I believe that the bitterness of the arugula plays an important role in the flavor combination of this salad.
- Pear – pick one that you like, and make sure it is sweet and ripe. Again you want a contrast with the other flavors of the salad. I used a Bosc pear; sweet and soft.
- Orange – as you can see, I used blood oranges and the main reason was the color. Traditional oranges will work as well.
- Pine nuts, toasted. Can be substituted with walnuts or pecans.
- Pecorino Romano – please use the real stuff. It may be a little bit more expensive than the make-beliefs, but you will definitely taste the difference. It is worth it.
- Dressing: balsamic and olive oil, salt and pepper.
If you like arugula, there are just a few other recipes in which I used it:
- Whole Grain Trumpets with Tomatoes and Arugula
- Taleggio Arugula Tortilla Panini
- Couscous Arugula Strawberry Salad
- Coconut Risotto with Cranberries and Arugula
Arugula Pear Orange and Pecorino Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pears sweet and ripe
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 blood oranges
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts toasted
- 3 cups arugula
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1.5 ounces Pecorino Romano Cheese shavings
Instructions
- Make the dressing by whisking balsamic vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper until you have a smooth mixture.
- Peel and core pears, thinly slice them and sprinkle them with lemon juice.
- Peel the orange in the following way. Use a sharp knife and cut off the ends. Then carefully cut downwards, following the curve of the fruit and remove skin and pith. Start thin and see how thick the skin is. Adjust for the next cuts.
- Place the ‘naked’ orange in your hand and cut out the wedges, the individual parts, by slicing parallel to the membranes.
- Place the arugula in a bowl and mix with the dressing.
- Arrange the pear and orange wedges on top of the salad and sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts.
- Use a vegetable peeler and cut thin slices from the Pecorino Romano cheese and transfer to the salad bowl.
- Keep rest of the cheese shavings and serve alongside the salad.
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