Pear and Cranberry Chopped Salad
By America's Test KitchenPublished on June 17, 2011
Yield
Serves 4 as a light entrée and 6 as a side dish
Ingredients
1 medium cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into ½-inch dice (about 1 ¼ cups)table salt 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and cut into ¼-inch pieces (about 1 cup)1 ripe but firm pear cut into ¼-inch pieces (about 1 cup)½ small minced red onion (about ¼ cup)½ cup dried cranberries 1 romaine lettuce, cut into ½-inch pieces (about 3 cups)4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)½ cup pistachio, toasted and coarsely choppedground black pepper
Before You Begin
For information on how to prepare the cucumbers, see “Seeding and Chopping Cucumbers," below.
Instructions
- Combine cucumber and ½ teaspoon salt in colander set over bowl and let stand 15 minutes.
- Whisk oil and vinegar together in large bowl. Add drained cucumber, bell pepper, pear, onion, and cranberries; toss and let stand at room temperature to blend flavors, 5 minutes.
- Add romaine, blue cheese, and pistachios; toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
Yield
Serves 4 as a light entrée and 6 as a side dishIngredients
1 medium cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into ½-inch dice (about 1 ¼ cups)
table salt
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and cut into ¼-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
1 ripe but firm pear cut into ¼-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
½ small minced red onion (about ¼ cup)
½ cup dried cranberries
1 romaine lettuce, cut into ½-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)
½ cup pistachio, toasted and coarsely chopped
ground black pepper
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
1 medium cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into ½-inch dice (about 1 ¼ cups)
table salt
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and cut into ¼-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
1 ripe but firm pear cut into ¼-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
½ small minced red onion (about ¼ cup)
½ cup dried cranberries
1 romaine lettuce, cut into ½-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)
½ cup pistachio, toasted and coarsely chopped
ground black pepper
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
1 medium cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into ½-inch dice (about 1 ¼ cups)
table salt
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and cut into ¼-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
1 ripe but firm pear cut into ¼-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
½ small minced red onion (about ¼ cup)
½ cup dried cranberries
1 romaine lettuce, cut into ½-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)
½ cup pistachio, toasted and coarsely chopped
ground black pepper
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
To prevent the cut-up produce in our chopped salad recipe from exuding moisture, we turned to techniques like seeding the cucumbers before salting them to expose more surface area to the salt. An assertive combination of equal parts oil and vinegar delivered the bright acidic flavor we were looking for in our dressing for our chopped salad recipe. Briefly marinating the other ingredients in the dressing delivered an additional flavor boost.
Before You Begin
For information on how to prepare the cucumbers, see “Seeding and Chopping Cucumbers," below.
Instructions
- Combine cucumber and ½ teaspoon salt in colander set over bowl and let stand 15 minutes.
- Whisk oil and vinegar together in large bowl. Add drained cucumber, bell pepper, pear, onion, and cranberries; toss and let stand at room temperature to blend flavors, 5 minutes.
- Add romaine, blue cheese, and pistachios; toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
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