Grilled pear and goat cheese salad recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup (8 ounces) water
• ½ cup (4 ounces) dry white wine
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 lemon Peel, in several strips
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• Small sprig of fresh lemon thyme or other thyme
• Kosher salt and ground white pepper
• 2 large Bosc or Anjou pears, peeled and cut into halves vertically

• ½ cup (4 ounces) olive oil
• ¼ cup (2 ounces) orange juice
• ¼ cup (2 ounces) apple cider
• ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons (1 ½ ounces) chestnut honey, or other strong-flavored honey
• 1 teaspoon minced shallot
• Kosher salt and ground white pepper

• About 8 ounces unsliced brioche, challah, or rye bread (day-old fine), cut into 1 dozen 1-inch cubes
• 4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
• 1½ teaspoons grated orange zest
• Kosher salt and ground white pepper
• ½ cup blanched arugula
• ¼ teaspoon roasted garlic puree
• ¼ cup (2 ounces) ice water
• ½ cup (4 ounces) olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon grated lemon zest
• Kosher salt and ground white pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, for the finished dish
• Baby kale, radicchio, arugula, or watercress leaves, or a combination, for the finished dish

To Poach the Pears
1. In a medium saucepan, combine the water, wine, sugar, lemon, bay leaves, black pepper-corns, thyme, and pinches of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 3 minutes.
2. Add the pear halves, lower the heat so that just an occasional bubble breaks on the surface, and poach the pears for about 5 minutes, until tender.
3. Remove the pan from the stove and let the pears cool in the liquid. Refrigerate the pears in the liquid if you are not using them shortly.
To Prepare the Vinaigrette
4. Whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl. (If your honey is somewhat crystallized, it may be easier to pop the ingredients in a blender to combine them.)
To Prepare the Brioche Croutons
5. Toss the brioche cubes together in a medium bowl with the butter and orange zest. Sprinkle very lightly with salt and pepper. Let the cubes soak up the butter mixture for several minutes.
6. Meanwhile, warm a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the cubes and toast them on all sides, reducing the heat if needed to get the cubes nicely browned. Hold the brioche cubes at room temperature.
To Prepare the Arugula Oil
7. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and puree.
Putting it all together
8. Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium heat. Cut the pears in quarters, removing their cores. Brush lightly with olive oil. Grill the pears quickly on all sides, to get them nicely marked by the grill. I slice a little off the bottom of four pear slices so that I can stand them up on the plates. Intersperse pear slices and brioche cubes in a line down the center of each of 4 plates. Spoon a mound of goat cheese to one side. Drizzle a puddle of arugula oil to the other side. Toss a bit of the vinaigrette with the baby kale and arugula and arrange the leaves over and around the pears and brioche croutons. Spoon some of the vinaigrette over the pears and serve.