By Bianca Tamburello, Dietetics Student, Sargent College

Two weeks ago at the KJ SC Test Kitchen, we sipped tea with our pinkies pointing up toward the ceiling and prepared a fancy SC Arugula and Roasted Pear Salad with pine nuts.

Adding fruit to your salad is a great way to get your daily servings of fruits and vegetables at the same time. Isn’t multitasking terrific?

Check out this simple recipe for SC Arugula and Roasted Pear Salad

Recipe Recap

First, we peeled, cored and cut the pears lengthwise and coated them evenly with sugar and butter. The pears were then smoothed onto a baking sheet in a single layer. We baked the pears for 15 minutes on each side at 400 degrees.

Next, we roasted the pine nuts until toasty brown for about 5 minutes.

We even made our own salad dressing! We simply whisked together the oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, mustard, and maple syrup. Then we coated the arugula in the dressing and plated the leaves. Finally, we fanned out the roasted pears and sprinkled pine nuts on top.

Future suggestions

This recipe was delectable, but there is always room for improvement!

• The roasted pears were a little soggy. Cutting back on the sugar and butter may help.
• Substitute granulated sugar for brown sugar

Sargent Choice Arugula and Roasted Pear Salad

Yields 4 servings

Ingredients:
4 firm, almost-ripe pears (Bartlett or Bosc), peeled, cored, and cut lengthwise
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 tablespoons pine nuts
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon maple syrup
6 cups arugula or mixed salad greens
¼ cup fresh Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 400˚F.

2. In a medium bowl, toss the pears, sugar, and butter.  Arrange the pears in a single layer in a baking sheet. Bake, turning once, until the pears are barely tender, about 10-15 minutes.

3. Dry roast the pine nuts in a skillet for 5 minutes, until toasty brown. Remove from the heat and set aside.

4. In a large salad bowl, prepare the dressing by whisking together the oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, mustard, and maple syrup.  Add the arugula or salad greens and toss to coat.

5. Divide the salad onto four plates.  Arrange the pears in a fan around the center and sprinkle with the cranberries, Parmesan cheese, and pine nuts.

Adapted from Epicurious.com