Pear and Radish Salad with Gorgonzola cheese is not your same old steakhouse chopped salad. Sweet crisp pears, gorgeous watermelon radishes with a little bite, creamy gorgonzola cheese and delicate, salty roasted seaweed sheets deliver surprising taste that is greater than the sum of the parts.
This Pear and Radish Salad with Gorgonzola works well as a starter course. It’s too special to serve alongside a main. Recently, I served this salad as a second course after my Best Spicy Tuna Tartare recipe as part of a special Valentine’s dinner for my husband. He loved it!
This recipe is an adaptation of a recipe in the February, 2022 issue of Bon Appétit magazine.
Ingredients for Pear and Radish Salad with Gorgonzola
Ripe but firm pears are a must for this Pear and Radish Salad with Gorgonzola. I used Bosc pears that gave just a little bit when I squeezed them. For maximum visual delight, take the time to find watermelon radishes, which display a gorgeous bright pink color inside. (They call them watermelon radishes for a reason.) Finally, there is a big difference between difference brands of packaged roasted seaweed snack sheets. The Annie Chun brand, widely available, is a good choice. Surprisingly, I usually find Trader Joe’s products to be of superior quality, but their roasted seaweed snack packs are super greasy for some reason.
- firm, ripe fresh pears
- radish, preferably watermelon
- extra virgin olive oil
- fresh lemon juice
- sea salt
- pepper
- gorgonzola dolce or other soft blue cheese
- roasted seaweed snack sheets
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
With a very sharp knife, slice each pear into thin slices starting on the outside edge with the pear laying down on its side. This produces slices that resemble the actual shape of a pear and look beautiful when plated. Stop slicing when you reach the core. Turn the pear around and slice the other side. Place in a medium bowl.
Slice the water melon radish into thin slices, stopping when you have about the same number of slices of radish as you have of the pears. Place in a second medium bowl.
Combine olive oil, lemon juice and sea salt to taste in a small bowl. Add half of this dressing to the bowl with the pears and half to the bowl with the radishes. Toss each lightly.
Hint: Although it may seem like an unnecessary waste using two bowls, I have found that when you toss the pears and the radishes together in the same bowl with the dressing, the pear slices break apart, since they are so much more delicate than the radish slices.
Plating
Arrange pears and radishes on 2 individual serving plates. Evenly crumble Gorgonzola on top and season with pepper. Crush the roasts seaweed sheets and sprinkle on top of each salad.
Variations on the Pear and Radish Salad with Gorgonzola
Watermelon radishes provide tremendous visual appeal to this dish. Other radishes, such as more commonly found daikon can be used. The dish just won’t look as pretty.
Pear and Radish Salad with Gorgonzola
Ingredients
- 2 firm, ripe pears preferably Bosc
- 1 watermelon or daikon radish
- 4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- sea salt to taste
- 2 oz Gorgonzola dolce or other soft blue cheese
- freshly ground pepper
- 4 sheets roasted seaweed snacks
Instructions
- Starting from the outside edge, thinly slice the pear until you hit the core (seeds). Then turn the pear around and slice from the other side in. This method of slicing pears results in slices that retain the shape of a whole pear. Place in a small bowl.
- Thinly slice the radish. I used a sharp chef's knife for a single radish, rather than dragging out my mandolin. Radishes vary greatly in size. Ideally, you want as many slices of radish as you have pear slices. Place in a separate small bowl. We will toss the pears and the radishes with dressing, and the radishes are much sturdier than the pears so we will toss them separately.
- Combine olive oil, lemon juice and sea salt to taste in a small bowl. Add half of this dressing to the bowl with the pears and half to the bowl with the radishes. Toss each lightly.
- Arrange pears and radishes on 2 individual serving plates. Evenly crumble Gorgonzola on top and season with pepper. Crush the roasts seaweed snack sheets and sprinkle on top of each salad.
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