Roasted Pear Salad

By Connie

Ingredients

• 1 cup, divided Marzetti® Light Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
• To taste, Marzetti® Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing
• Other Ingredients
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 4 oz blue cheese
• 1/4 cup dried cherries
• 3 firm pears
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 8 oz butter lettuce

Details

Servings 6

Preparation

Step 1

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

DRESSING: Mix 3/4 cup Marzetti® Light Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing and sugar in a sauce pan. Cook over low heat just until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside.

STUFFING: Place pecans in a skillet: toast over medium heat (watch carefully as they burn easily). Set aside. Mix cherries with toasted pecans and blue cheese and set aside.

PEARS: Slice pears in half lengthwise, remove cores from pears to create a hole for filling. Trim a slice from bottom of each pear half to allow them to sit upright in the baking dish. Place pears-- hole side up--in a baking dish and sprinkle with lemon juice. Spoon filling into center of pears. Sprinkle 1 tbsp. of Marzetti® Light Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing over each pear and pour remaining dressing around pears. Bake uncovered until tender, (about 30 minutes); basting 3 or 4 times during baking time. To assemble: clean and tear lettuce into bite size pieces and toss with remaining Marzetti® Light Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing. Arrange lettuce on salad plates; place a pear in center of each plate, spoon pan drippings over top of each pear. Drizzle desired amount of Marzetti® Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing over each salad.