Pear Parmesan Salad

This Pear Parmesan Salad with praline is that perfect, dairy salad that your guests (and you) look forward to.

I turn back to this salad almost every time I’m hosting a dairy meal, and every single time, I start from scratch. 

“What did I do last time?” “What did I put in the dressing?” “How did I cook the pears?”

I suppose I guess right each time, or maybe the combination is just so good, that it doesn’t matter if it’s a little different each time.

Except that last Chanukah or Shavuos or the last Sheva Brachos, whenever I did have the excuse to prepare this again, this time I wrote down what I did.

One of the things that sets this apart and makes this a “company” or “special occasion” salad is the praline. It’s definitely not your weekday salad component. And, no, you won’t need all this praline for the salad, you’ll just need a little. You will, however, need the rest of the praline for a can’t-miss dessert that’s upcoming.

The praline is made on the stovetop and while it’s easy, it does take some concentration. Add 1 cup sugar to a frying pan and simply let it cook over medium heat, until it’s golden. It will take 8-10 minutes, but watch carefully and don’t let it burn. Swirl the pan if you need to, but don’t mix with a spoon. Meanwhile, you want to get a sheet of parchment paper ready. As soon as it’s golden (if there’s some sugar left that’s stubbornly not melting, don’t worry, you still want to get to this step before the sugar gets too dark), stir in the almonds, then quickly spread the whole mixture on your parchment paper. And that’s how you make praline. Yum. For this salad and the upcoming dessert, you’ll need to crush up the praline (mallet, bottom of a pot, rolling pin….however you want to do it). 

Now let’s roast some pears. 

A little olive oil, honey, and salt is all they need to take the flavor way up.

Roasted and ready.

Now we can plate this. Simple, crunchy Romaine on the bottom.

Pears, some of the crushed praline, and Parmesan…

Finally, dress the salad. The dressing is easy to remember with equal parts lemon juice, olive oil, and honey, with some Dijon, garlic, and salt. Simple and perfect.

You see why this is one of our favorites?