Name: Roasted Pear and Beet Salad with Watercress and Blue Cheese
Total time: 2 h
Ingredients: 3 small beets or 2 medium beets (about 12 ounces); 4 firm Anjou pears or Bartlett pears (about 2 pounds); 1 tablespoon unsalted butter , melted; 2 tablespoons granulated sugar; 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar; 1/2 teaspoon table salt; Ground black pepper; 4 ounces blue cheese , crumbled; 2 bunches watercress , washed, dried, and stemmed (about 6 cups)

Why This Recipe Works

We preferred Bartlett or Anjou Pears in our pear salad recipe, roasting them al dente with butter and a little bit of sugar to sweeten them without making them syrupy. To complete our pear salad recipe, we combined the roasted fruit with bitter greens and cheese.

Before You Begin

This salad is great served with warm pears. Roast the pears immediately after the beets and toss them into the salad while still warm.

Instructions

for beets

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap each beet in foil and roast until fork can be inserted and removed with little resistance, 1 to 11/2 hours; unwrap beets. When cool enough to handle, peel and cut beets lengthwise into quarters; cut each quarter in half into wedges.

for roasted pears

Place baking sheet or broiler pan bottom on rack, and turn up oven heat to 500 degrees.

Peel and halve each pear lengthwise. With paring knife or melon baller, remove core. Set each half cut-side down and slice lengthwise into fifths.

Toss pears with butter; add sugar and toss again to combine. Spread pears in single layer on preheated baking sheet, making sure each slice lies flat on surface. Roast until browned on bottom, about 10 minutes. Flip each slice and roast until tender and deep golden brown, about 5 minutes longer.

for salad

Whisk together oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste in small bowl.

Combine beets, blue cheese, and watercress in large serving bowl. Add pears and vinaigrette; toss gently to combine. Serve immediately.