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Pear-fennel salad

ingredients

1/2 lb bacon
1 bulb fresh fennel
1 Asian pear (the round Japanese pear aka nashi, not the harder-to-find Chinese pear)
1 bunch fresh mesclun, torn into fork-size pieces (we used some volunteer lettuce that had sprung up in our garden)
2 oz goat cheese

citrus-balsamic vinaigrette ingredients

1 oz real old balsamic vinegarr
1 oz extra virgin olive oil
1 oz orange juice
dash of salt
generous dash of pepper

directions

Well beforehand, even a day, cook the bacon until quite crispy. Drain, pat off excess fat, and crumble.

Combine all the vinaigrette ingredients and shake together well. The recipe above gives the amount enough for a salad for two. To make more vinaigrette, just keep the ingredients in their 1:1:1 proportion.

Wash all vegetables thoroughly. Cut any long stems from the fennel and save for another dish. Trim the base and the outer leaves to remove any tough parts. Quarter the fennel and remove the innermost core. Finally, slice with the grain into matchstick-sized pieces. Peel and core the pear and slice approximately the same thickness as the fennel.

Combine the fennel, pears, and lettuce and dress with the vinaigrette, coating everything well. Top with crumbled goat cheese and bacon.

Light, satisfying, and surprising: the bacon doesn’t make it too heavy; the tangy cheese and crunchy, juicy pears and fennel give a great mouth feel and freshness; and the unusual combination of fruit and anise flavors against the bacon and cheese’s saltiness and umami is a real treat.