January 17, 2017, posted by Gina – I recently attended a class at the Farmer’s Table Cooking School in Livingston, Mississippi where Chef Matthew taught us his recipe for a Vertical Pear Salad. Don’t let the architectural nature of this salad intimidate you. I show you step by step how to cut and layer the pears to create this delicious beauty.
Start with very ripe pears, a knife, a vegetable peeler, a melon baller and the ingredients. I used a red pear here but we used Bartlett pears in the cooking school. Peel the pear completely.
Slice the bottom of the pear so that it will be flat and able to stand up without wobbling. Scoop the core out of the pear with the melon baller…it may take a few scoops.
Slice the pear into four even pieces then place the bottom piece of the pear on the plate first.
Add a little salad and continue layering in the same fashion with salad in between each pear slice.
This is really a simple salad but the flavors are so fresh. I started thinking of how I would put something like this together for several guests. Here are my two cents: a few hours before serving I would prepare my salad ingredients but not toss them. I would go ahead and slice and core my pears and place them individually in plastic bags. I would assemble them right before serving. They do not take that long to put together if everything is ready. ENJOY!!
Pingback: A Pair of Pairs