Pears grilled with pecorino recipe

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: about 5 minutes

 

50 g pecorino

1 bunch of watercress, trimmed, about 50 g, leaves removed from stalks

23/4 cups (120 g) baby rocket leaves

50 g seedless green grapes, halved

2 pears

 

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon best-quality balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

pinch of caster sugar

salt and pepper

 

 

1 First make the dressing. Put the oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste into a small screw-top jar. Screw on the lid and shake all the ingredients together until well blended. Keep the dressing in the fridge until required.

 

2 Preheat the grill to high. Place a strip of cooking foil on a baking tray and set aside.

 

3 Using a vegetable peeler, peel the pecorino into fine shavings. Reserve half of these and finely chop the remainder. Put the watercress, rocket leaves and grapes into a salad bowl and toss together.

 

4 Peel, halve and core the pears. Arrange the pear halves, cut sides down, on the foil strip. Top the pears with the shavings of cheese, slightly overlapping them. Place under the grill, about 15 cm from the heat, and grill for 2 minutes, or until the cheese just starts to bubble and turn golden.

 

5 Meanwhile, shake the dressing, pour it over the salad and toss to coat the leaves. Add the chopped pecorino. Divide the salad equally among 4 plates.

 

6 Using a spatula, carefully transfer one pear half to each plate, placing it on top of the bed of dressed salad. Serve at once.

 

Each serving provides 544 kJ, 130 kcal, 4 g protein, 9 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 9 g carbohydrate (9 g sugars), 2 g fibre

 

 

This salad is a useful source of calcium, needed for healthy bones and teeth. The pecorino, watercress and rocket all provide this vital mineral.