This Spiced Poached Pears and Goats Cheese Salad is stunning in every way! Delicious and beautiful, it can be prepared ahead of time making it perfect for entertaining.
I just love the colour in this Spiced Poached Pears and Goats Cheese Salad! The deep burgundy of the wine poached pears, the pop of green peppery watercress (although arugula works just as well) and then the white of the goats cheese (or you could use feta).
This salad is beautiful to look at and oh some yummy to eat! There is something so satisfying about a dish that looks as delicious and it tastes. They make the perfect dishes for entertaining. Simple to make, stunning to look at and amazing to eat.
And it doesn't get much simpler than this Spiced Poached Pears and Goats Cheese Salad. The pears are poached in a red wine mixture that has is spiced with the flavours of mulled wine. The sweetness and aromatic spices work amazingly with the salty goats cheese.
Once the pears have been poached they can sit in the cooled poaching liquid for up to 24 hours. Perfect for preparing ahead of time! So serve this Spiced Poached Pears and Goats Cheese Salad as an appetizer next time you have friends for dinner and enjoy the praise that follows.
After these poached pears I would suggest a main course of perfectly cooked steak, a pat of red wine and shallot butter, with hedgehog potatoes and roasted mushrooms on the side. YUM!
If you love poached pears then why not try these Pears Poached in Tokaj wine with golden raisins and cardamom, from my friend Brian over at Krumpli.
Don't they look delish!!! That is Chantilly cream on top....DROOL!
p.s Tokaj wine is an Hungarian dessert wine. Something Brian knows a lot about.....because he lives in Hungry not because he likes a drop of wine 😉
Pop on over and say hi, he has beautiful photos and amazing recipes.
Enjoy x
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Spiced Poached Pears and Goats Cheese Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups red wine
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cinnamon quill
- 2 star anise
- 3 cardamon pods
- 1 lemon
- 4 firm pears
- ⅓ cup chopped walnuts
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 cups watercress
- 1 cup baby spinach
- 2 goats cheese logs (9oz/240g total weight)
Instructions
- Pour the red wine into a sauce pan, add the sugar, cinnamon, star anise,carsamon pods and a strip of the lemon peel.
- Stir it slowly over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved.
- Peel the pears, cut them in half and use a teaspoon to remove the core.
- Poach them in the wine for 10 minutes or until just tender.
- Remove the pan from the heat and leave the pears to cool in the poaching liquid.
- Mix the olive oil and the juice from the lemon together. Add a tablespoon of the pouching liquid and then seasoning the dressing with salt and pepper.
- Use about half of the dressing to coat the watercress and spinach and arrange it on 4 plates.
- Top each plate with two pear halves.
- Crumble over the goats cheese.
- Sprinkle with the chopped walnuts and serve with the remaining dressing.
Notes
Nutrition
1a-jay says
So, I hate when people do this and yet I’m doing it. I was looking to make a cold fall appetizer to bring to a moms group. Found a poached pear wedges, goat cheese and basil wrapped in prosciutto recipe then found this recipe. I like your poaching recipe waaay better!!! Thinking of adding the walnuts to the goat cheese, using your poaching recipe and then wrapping in prosciutto. I don’t usually go rogue like this. What do you think? Do I have to remove the skin when poaching?
Claire McEwen says
Hi,
Experimentation is where some of the best recipes come from 🙂 so I say go for it!
I always remove the skin before poaching as I find when I poach pears with their skins it starts to peel off anyway and just looks unattractive.
I think the pears could definitely work being wrapped in prosciutto, I think it would work well with the slightly sweet winey pears.
I am funny about having a crunchy element mixed within something smooth, so I wouldn't do the walnuts in the goats cheese, but that is just me (I don't eat nuts in my chocolate because I don't like the two textures) but that is a personal preference on texture 😉 flavour wise it would most certainly work.
Give it a go and see what happens, if it's a disaster, tell them it was a recipe you found online and you won't be making it again 😉
(Just don't tell them it was me!!!)
Hope that sort of helps
Cx
Brian Jones says
Oi missus, stop downplaying my love of a drop of plonk 😉 This is such a great sound recipe, love that we both chose to poach pears and came up with something so very different. Beautiful photography as ever too!
Claire McEwen says
Hahaha, I had best change the post, I can't have your reputation tainted 😉
Marie says
What an elegant appetizer! Love the pairing of wine poached pears and goat cheese (along with peppery watercress and spinach). This looks absolutely delicious.
Claire McEwen says
Thank you Marie, it is such a flavour packed colourful salad 😀
Savita says
Totally my kinda salad. Love the color on these pears. Delicious!
Claire McEwen says
They are so beautiful aren't the Savita
Lisa says
Love how gorgeous and elegant this salad is. Definitely making for my next girls dinner!
Claire McEwen says
It is the perfect dish for a girls dinner, so pretty and more importantly packed with flavours 😀
Liz @ I Heart Vegetables says
My husband loves goat cheese so I think this would be the kind of salad he would get excited about! haha it looks so good!
Claire McEwen says
I hope your hubby loves it Liz 😀