Pear Slaw
It is the darnedest thing. I’m sorry for saying “darnedest” but there really is no better word. Without fail, every time I catch an episode of The Kitchen on the Food Network, I end up falling in love with a recipe and rewinding the show so that I can take notes. It’s happened so many times that I’m not exactly sure why it still surprises me. It might be that I find the bantering nature of the show to be a bit annoying. Or that it’s just so coincidental that I am channel surfing, land on an episode and need to make what they’re making ASAP. But more than likely is the reliability of finding something that piques my interest that dumbfounds me. I guess I should start recording episodes and thoughtfully paying attention as opposed to continuing to leave it all to chance.
The Pear Slaw recipe is a delicious result of the happenstance described above. Alex Guarnaschelli was cutting pears into matchsticks and bemoaning the pear’s second fiddle status to the apple, for salads and slaws. This was a “Give Pears A Chance” sort of recipe, and while we were at it, “Celery, Too!” I’m not one to reach for a pear, or celery for the matter, so Alex really had to sell this recipe to me and she did just that. Describing how the juice from the pears blend with the rice wine vinegar and gets rounded out by a pinch of sugar, grate of garlic and a dash of olive oil, resulting in the perfect vinaigrette. The matchstick pears and celery slices dance in this bright dressing that is finished with the slight crunch of cumin and coriander seeds. My mouth was watering and I practically ran out to pick up some pears.
If you do as Alex does, you would serve the slaw alongside some pan sautéed chicken breasts (Pan-Seared Chicken with Pear Slaw). As the chicken finishes cooking, dose it with a splash of the juice from the bottom of the slaw bowl. And feel free to make the Pear Slaw an hour or so in advance, letting it come together and soften in the fridge or serve in right away if you are looking for a more crunchy salad. Either way it’s a winner that I will be serving up all winter long. Enjoy!
Pear Slaw
Ingredients
- 1/2 c rice wine vinegar
- 2 Tbls olive oil
- 1 Tbls sugar
- 1 clove garlic grated
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp corriander seeds
- 3 underripe Anjou pears peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 2 stalks celery peeled and thinly sliced into half-moons
Instructions
- In a large bowl whisk together the vinegar, oil, sugar, garlic, cumin, corriander and a generous pinch of salt.
- Stir the pears and celery into the dressing and toss to completely coat. Keep in the refrigerator until serving or serve at room temperature.
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October 25, 2021 @ 9:46 am
I’m intrigued!
October 25, 2021 @ 9:30 am
This sounds delicious