Caramelized Pear Salad with Goat Cheese and Strawberries
This salad sits right on the line between dessert and starter: hot caramelized pear meets cool pear sorbet, while creamy goat cheese tempers the sweet-and-sour play of a Thai dressing. The contrast of temperatures and textures here isn’t accidental — it’s built into the very design of the dish.
Pairing pear with goat cheese is a staple of French bistronomy, where the sweetness of fruit is deliberately set against the sharp tang of goat’s-milk cheese. The sweet-and-spicy Thai sauce in the dressing adds an unexpected Asian accent, and pine nuts and corn salad (lamb’s lettuce) bring nutty and herbaceous notes.
Cook’s Notes
Choose firm, slightly underripe pears like Conference — soft ones fall apart as they caramelize. Caramel scorches easily: pull the pan off the heat the moment the syrup turns amber, or it will go bitter. No sorbet? Serve the salad with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream, or simply with chilled wedges of fresh pear. Pink peppercorns can be swapped for freshly ground black, but pink lends a delicate resinous note all its own.
Serve right after plating, while the nuts are still crisp and the sorbet hasn’t melted. The goat cheese cream can be whipped ahead and kept refrigerated for up to a day.
Part of European cuisine — 67 more recipes in the section.
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Ingredients
Instructions
Peel and core the pears, then cut them into long wedges.
In a hot skillet, melt the butter, add the sugar and lemon juice, and cook to a syrup. Add two-thirds of the pears and caramelize for 5-7 minutes, then let cool. Sprinkle the remaining wedges with lemon juice.
Combine the Thai sauce, honey, olive oil, and a pinch of salt, add the corn salad leaves, and toss.
Whip the soft goat cheese with the cream using a mixer until smooth, then fold in ground pink peppercorns and finely chopped thyme.
Arrange the caramelized and fresh pear pieces on plates and top with the goat cheese cream. Alongside, place the dressed corn salad and strawberry pieces, then scatter over the toasted pine nuts.
Just before serving, add a scoop of pear sorbet.
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