Pear and Rocket Salad with Avocado, Parmesan and Fried Shallots

This pear and rocket salad with avocado, parmesan and fried shallots can be assembled in just a few minutes. Red Anjou pears were available this week, so I picked up a few to use in the salad. The little strips of red when the pears are sliced look so pretty with the fresh green rocket leaves and the pale yellow shavings of parmesan cheese, and the honey and apple cider vinegar dressing complements the ingredients perfectly.

Christine Manfield https://christinemanfield.com once said that a good salad should always be made with the freshest of ingredients, with a combination of flavours and textures. I always follow this tip – adding toasted nuts or seeds, chopped celery or fried shallots for the crunch. You can add sweetness, with dried cherries, cranberries, sliced apples or pears, or perhaps a little honey in the dressing. Add acidity, in the form of picked fennel, capers, vinegar or lemon juice. Lastly, when making the salad dressing, whisk the ingredients in a large bowl. This way the rocket leaves will pick up the flavours from the sides of the bowl when you toss everything together (a chef taught me that once). Most of my salads have herbs in them, either tossed with the leaves, as a garnish, or even blended into the dressing. Why don’t you try this too?

The salad is a lovely accompaniment to this roast chicken dish: https://atamandastable.com.au/roast-chicken-th…-lemon-and-thyme/

Amanda

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Print Recipe

Pear, Rocket and Parmesan Salad with Avocado, Parmesan and Fried Shallots

A pretty autumn salad with sweet red anjou pears

Servings: 4 people

Author: Amanda Lawson

Ingredients

• 3 cups rocket leaves, washed and dried
• 1 pear, Red Anjou or Packam, washed and thinly sliced
• 1 large ripe avocado
• 1/3 cup shaved parmesan cheese
• 1 handful fried shallots
• 1/2 lemon, juiced

Dressing

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp honey
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

• Place the pear slices in a small bowl with the lemon juice and set aside.
• Whisk all of the dressing ingredients in a large bowl, then toss in the rocket leaves to coat them in the dressing.
• Assemble the rocket leaves on a large plate, spoon the avocado on top and add the drained pears.
• Sprinkle the shaved parmesan cheese and fried shallots over the salad and serve immediately.

Notes

If your rocket leaves are looking tired, refresh them in a bowl of ice cold water for 15-30 minutes. Pat them dry with a clean tea towel, or spin them in a salad spinner.

The dressing can be made up to three days in advance and stored in a jar in the fridge. Bring to room temperature before using.

Fried shallots can be found in Asian grocers or large supermarkets.