Pear Carpaccio, Toasted Pecans and Parmesan Salad

I stumbled upon this recipe while looking for new salad ideas last week and it just looked so delicious! Right now pears are so juicy and this seemed like a great way to incorporate them into a quick weeknight meal.


While the original recipe looks amazing, I had to make a lot of changes based on what was available at our local Italian market as it was way to cold outside to truck on over to the grocery store for the remaining ingredients.  In the end what resulted was a delicious and light salad that is simply fantastic!

I love the flavour that toasted nuts add to a salad.  For this salad I used toasted pecans (I'm still on a pecan kick) and they went perfectly with the pears and parmesan.


Since we are smack dab in the middle of winter, I am finding it hard to take pictures in natural light as the sun has set by time I get home from work. I hope you don't mind the lighting in my kitchen at night!


This recipe is adapted from the Pear Carpaccio, Moliterno, and Roasted Walnuts recipe from Daniel Costa and makes 4 servings

Pear Carpaccio, Toasted Pecans, and Parmesan Salad

• 3 pears, sliced very thin
• Juice of one lemon
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• Parmesan cheese
• 4 cups mixed greens
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• balsamic vinegar

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F and spread the chopped pecans on a baking sheet
2. Bake the pecans for 8 - 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they start to brown. Remove from oven and set aside
3. Slice the pears as thin as you can and spread them amongst 4 plates
4. Drizzle the pears with some lemon juice and olive oil
5. In a medium bowl toss the mixed greens with some of the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper
6. Place approximately one cup of the mixed greens on top of each plate of sliced pears
7. Top the greens with the toasted pecans, fresh slices of parmesan (sliced with a vegetable peeler), fresh pepper, olive oil, and a quick drizzle of balsamic vinegar
8. Enjoy!