Ginger Asian Pear Salad

Crisp Asian pears with a sweet ginger dressing and a hint of Jerk seasoning make this refreshing salad a little different.

Ginger Asian Pear Salad

Serves 4 - 5

Massive Asian Pears have been one of my favorite fruits since childhood. My parents would buy a package from Costco that my mom would peel and slice for my brother and I to snack on. The pears were always perfectly juicy, refreshing and sweet.

In this salad, I wanted to showcase the pears in a savory aspect and paired them with ginger, cucumbers, and Caribbean seasoning to achieve it. The heat of the ginger mixed with rich sweetness of the allspice from the seasoning with the crisp refreshing pear is what makes this salad special. Peppery greens and nutty sesame seeds round out the salad. It’s juicy, refreshing and sweet and perfect for a hot summer day.

“Recipe Tips:

*1. Watercress or arugula can be substituted for the minari.

**2. In place of the Caribbean seasoning, you can use 1/8 - 0.25 t ground allspice.

3. I served this as a side salad but, adding some cooked chicken or beef would make this a meal-sized salad.”

Ingredients

Dressing

15g (1 T) ginger, grated

1 t Caribbean or dry Jerk seasoning**

0.50 t Asian mustard

0.25 t ground white pepper

2 T rice vinegar

2 T maesil

1.5 T sesame oil

1 T mirin

1 T yondu or soup soy sauce

Fruit and Vegetables

460g (1 large) Asian pear, cut into 0.25 in thick slices

260g (1 large) cucumber, sliced

40g (3 – 4) scallions, greens and whites sliced thinly

1 red chili, sliced 

Leafy greens

150g (1/2 large bunch) minari*, cut into bite sized pieces

140g (1/3 head) romaine, cut into large pieces

60g (3 large handfuls) spring mix 

Finishing

Toasted sesame seeds

Recipe Know-how

1.      In a small bowl add the ginger, Caribbean seasoning, mustard and pepper.

• Mash together until the mustard is dissolved and the pepper and seasoning are well combined.

• Add the remaining dressing ingredients mixing well.

• Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.

• Set aside.

2.      In a medium mixing bowl toss the fruit and vegetables with 2 T of the dressing.

• Toss until everything is well coated.

• Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes along with the dressing until needed.

3.      Toss the leafy greens with 2.5 T of the dressing.

This amount of dressing just coats the greens, if you like more dressing, add it as desired.

• Divide among plates and top with some of the marinated fruit and vegetables.

• Drizzle a little extra dressing over everything.

• Top each plate with some sesame seeds.

4.      Serve.