Warm Green Salad, Pears, Brie & Bacon Vinaigrette
What could be better that pears, brie, bacon and a salad? Put it all together while warm and its fantastic with our Chardonnay.
Ingredients
- 1-2 firm-ripe pears ·
- Kosher Salt ·
- Black Pepper in a mill ·
- 4 very thin red onion slices, rings separated ·
- 4 bacon slices ·
- 1 large shallot minced ·
- 2 garlic cloves, minced ·
- 3-4 tablespoons best quality white wine or champagne vinegar ·
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil ·
- 2 tablespoons snipped chives or minced Italian parsley ·
Instructions
Open the Chardonnay and pour one glass for the cook, leaving one glass for each of the four people being served.
Make about ¾ cup of the bacon vinaigrette. Fry the bacon in a medium sauté pan until it is crisp and transfer it to absorbent paper to drain.
Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat, return the pan to medium-low heat, add the shallot and sauté until soft and fragrant, about 7 minutes.
Add the garlic and sauté 2 minutes more. Season lightly with salt, add the vinegar and warm through. Whisk in the olive oil, season with several turns of black pepper and remove from the heat. Let cool briefly, stir in the chives or parsley and set aside.
Use a vegetable peeler to peel the pears. Cut the pears into quarters, remove the seed core and stem and lightly poach in Williamson 2004 Chardonnay for about 4 minutes. Cool and cut into very thin slices.
Put the frisee or arugula in a bowl, sprinkle with a little salt and several turns of black pepper and toss thoroughly. Add the onion and toss again.
Divide the frishee or arugula among individual bowls or plates. Arrange slices of brie over the greens and arrange the pears on top.
Spoon warm vinaigrette over each portion. Working quickly, crumble the bacon and scatter over the salads.
